In the midst of the war between Russia and Ukraine, China was still able to record quite good export growth. China's exports grew 16.3% during the January-February 2022 period. Despite slowing growth in December 2021, China's export performance still exceeded analyst expectations.
In December 2021, China recorded export growth of 20.9%. Meanwhile, economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict that China's exports will only grow 14 percent in the first two months.
China's exports are still growing moderately amid geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, indicating that global demand is still stable.
China's economic activity is usually volatile in the first two months of each year due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. The Covid outbreak in several regions of the country has also temporarily stopped business, although the impact can still be managed according to the Ministry of Trade.
"China's foreign trade is seeing a steady start, although the external environment for the development of foreign trade is currently more complex and uncertain," said Li Kuiwen, spokesman for China's General Administration of Customs.
China's imports grew 15.5% during the first two months or below economists' projections of 17%. As a result, China recorded a trade surplus of US$ 116 billion until the end of February 2022.
Meanwhile, China's steel exports fell 19% to 8.23 million metric tons in January-February 2022 from the same period last year. The value of its shipments jumped 34.4%.
Crude oil imports fell 4.9% in volume, natural gas purchases fell 3.8% and soybean imports increased 4.1%, with the value of all purchased commodities surging at double-digit rates.
Zhou Hao, Senior Emerging Markets Economist at Commerzbank AG said trade figures should have been much weaker in real terms given the surge in prices for both exports and imports.
"So export growth will weaken starting from the second quarter due to a high base, and import growth is somewhat uncertain as the Ukraine war could cause supply chain disruptions," Hao said.
Russia-Ukraine tensions and soaring oil prices have shifted focus to energy supplies. At a separate briefing by the National Development and Reform Commission on Monday, Vice Chairman Lian Weiliang said China's sources of crude oil, diversified natural gas and long-term contracts contributed greatly.
In the midst of the war between Russia and Ukraine, China was still able to record quite good export growth. China's exports grew 16.3% during the January-February 2022 period. Despite slowing growth in December 2021, China's export performance still exceeded analyst expectations.
In December 2021, China recorded export growth of 20.9%. Meanwhile, economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict that China's exports will only grow 14 percent in the first two months.
China's exports are still growing moderately amid geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, indicating that global demand is still stable.
China's economic activity is usually volatile in the first two months of each year due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. The Covid outbreak in several regions of the country has also temporarily stopped business, although the impact can still be managed according to the Ministry of Trade.
"China's foreign trade is seeing a steady start, although the external environment for the development of foreign trade is currently more complex and uncertain," said Li Kuiwen, spokesman for China's General Administration of Customs.
China's imports grew 15.5% during the first two months or below economists' projections of 17%. As a result, China recorded a trade surplus of US$ 116 billion until the end of February 2022.
Meanwhile, China's steel exports fell 19% to 8.23 million metric tons in January-February 2022 from the same period last year. The value of its shipments jumped 34.4%.
Crude oil imports fell 4.9% in volume, natural gas purchases fell 3.8% and soybean imports increased 4.1%, with the value of all purchased commodities surging at double-digit rates.
Zhou Hao, Senior Emerging Markets Economist at Commerzbank AG said trade figures should have been much weaker in real terms given the surge in prices for both exports and imports.
"So export growth will weaken starting from the second quarter due to a high base, and import growth is somewhat uncertain as the Ukraine war could cause supply chain disruptions," Hao said.
Russia-Ukraine tensions and soaring oil prices have shifted focus to energy supplies. At a separate briefing by the National Development and Reform Commission on Monday, Vice Chairman Lian Weiliang said China's sources of crude oil, diversified natural gas and long-term contracts contributed greatly.
