BEIJING (AP) - China's exports grew in November for the first time in nine months while imports also rose in a sign global and domestic demand are recovering.
Exports rose 0.1 percent to $19.7 billion, an improvement over October's 7.3 percent contraction, customs data showed Thursday. Imports rose 6.7 percent to $15.2 billion, up from the previous month's 1.4 percent decline.
The trade slump added to pressure on communist leaders to stop a decline in economic growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.
"Better-than-expected trade data out of China today reflects both an uptick in global demand as well as the continued strength of the domestic economy," said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report.
The gain was strong even when measured in China's currency, which has weakened against the dollar. In yuan terms, exports rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier while imports jumped 13 percent.
Still, despite the latest improvement, exports for the first 11 months of the 2016 are down 7.5 percent from a year ago. In 2015, exports fell 2.8 percent for the full year.
"The medium-term outlook for Chinese trade remains challenging," said Evans-Pritchard. "While global demand has recovered somewhat recently, lower trend growth in many developed and emerging economies means that further upside is probably limited."