Exports of goods from China fell to the lowest level in the last three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 and falling global demand have hit exports of goods from China. Source: Pixabay

In December, the export figures from China were the lowest in the last three years. This circumstance has aggravated the internal economic situation in the country. Now the Chinese leadership is trying to accelerate economic growth and cope with the spread of the coronavirus.

China’s trade surplus at the end of 2022 turned out to be positive, despite a drop in exports in December. On an annualized basis, the volume of exports decreased by 9.9% in dollar terms. This information is contained in the documentation that was published by the Customs Administration of China. In November, exports decreased by 8.7%.

The level of imports in December in China decreased by 7.5%. In November, the drop in this indicator was 10.6%.

In 2022, China’s trade surplus reached a record $878 billion amid a pandemic-era boom.

Coronavirus is not the only reason for the decline in export figures. Another factor of influence was the fall of world demand.

Goldman Sachs notes that exports of goods from China to the United States and the EU decreased by 18% and 20%, respectively, as rising interest rates weakened interest in goods from this country.

China will publish data on gross domestic product growth for 2022 on January 17. Experts predict that this indicator will not reach the target of 5.5%, which is the lowest in recent decades.

For China, the abolition of the zero-tolerance policy for coronavirus has turned into economic problems. The decision to abolish harsh measures was supposed to stimulate the development of the economy, but without quarantine restrictions, the incidence increased. For this reason, many employees of Chinese companies are on sick leave. Temporary loss of labor slows down production processes. Manufacturing activity in December fell the most since the beginning of the pandemic.

Zhiwei Zhang, a chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, believes that the domestic demand delayed due to the coronavirus in 2023 may become a stimulus for the growth of the Chinese economy. He also notes that the market expects support from the country’s leadership.

Covid-19 and falling global demand have hit exports of goods from China.