BEIJING (AP) – China’s exports surged in January, rebounding from the previous month’s contraction, and imports rose in a positive sign for the world’s second-largest economy.
Exports climbed 7.9 percent from a year earlier to $18.3 billion, recovering from December’s 6.1 percent decline, customs data showed Friday. Imports gained 16.7 percent to $13.1 billion, accelerating from the previous month’s 3.1 percent expansion.
China’s trade figures can be distorted by the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls at different times in January and February each year. Factories rush to fill orders before closing for up to two weeks and then restock with a flood of imported raw materials. The holiday began Jan. 27 this year, so some of the shutdown was in January, while last year’s break didn’t begin until Feb. 7.
“Headline trade data was strong in January,” said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report. “Import momentum remained solid, following the impressive sequential run up last year, indicating continued steady domestic demand momentum and higher commodity prices.”
Weak demand for Chinese exports adds to pressure on communist leaders who want to avoid politically volatile job losses as they try to nurture self-sustaining economic growth based on domestic consumption instead of trade and investment.