China’s exports in the first two months of 2025 grew 2.3% in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, beating only expectations of a 5% increase. The country’s imports declined 8.4% year-on-year, the sharpest fall since July 2023.
The slowdown in exports marked the slowest growth since April last year, when exports increased by just 1.5%. The decline in imports was unexpected, with analysts expecting an expansion of 1%.
Chinese exporters have been rushing to front-load outbound shipments ahead of more tariffs from the US. Trump’s first round of 10% tariff hikes took effect on February 4, followed by another 10% tariff increase just a month later, taking the cumulative levies to 20%. China has retaliated with additional tariffs on select U.S. goods.
Beijing’s leadership aims for growth of around 5% this year but acknowledges weak domestic demand. The country’s total trade values slumped 2.4% in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier. Despite this, the US remains China’s largest trading partner, accounting for over 11% of its total trades.
Unless a deal is reached to avert tariffs, trade with the US is expected to soften in the coming months. Meanwhile, imports from other major trading partners including the European Union and Japan slumped, while exports growth was modest.
China’s exports to ASEAN rose 5.7%, but imports fell 1.3%. The country’s imports of agricultural goods decreased significantly, with imported soybeans dropping 14.8% on year. Beijing is under pressure to release more stimulus measures to boost domestic consumption and reduce the economy’s reliance on exports.
The need for Beijing to step up efforts on boosting domestic demand has been underscored by Friday’s data release. With Trump set to deliver an assessment of China’s compliance with a trade deal by April 1, any further tariff actions could exacerbate the economic impact.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/07/china-jan-feb-exports-data-imports-this-year.html