China’s trade surplus decreased sharply to US$19.9 billion in March 2020 from US$31.5 billion in the same month of the previous year. Still, the latest reading was a reversal from January-February’s deficit of US$7.1 billion, with more factories restarting their production on the back of government measures to control the COVID-19 outbreak.
Year-on-year, exports shrank 6.6% to US$185.15 billion, compared with forecasts of a 14% fall. Meantime, imports dropped by 0.9% to US$165.25 billion, much less than expectations of a 9.5% decline. China’s trade surplus with the US stood at US$15.32 billion in March, narrowing sharply from a surplus of US$25.37 billion in January-February. For the first three months of the year, the trade surplus with the US totalled US$40.77 billion.
