BEIJING, July 13: Chinas exports rose sharply in June while imports declined unexpectedly, official figures showed Friday, in further evidence that the worlds second-largest economy is charting an uneven recovery.
Officials in China are grappling with a real estate debt crisis, weakening consumption, an ageing population and geopolitical tensions overseas.
And the latest figures come ahead of a key conclave of leaders in Beijing next week, with all eyes on how they might kickstart lacklustre growth.
That meeting will kick off the same day that China is expected to release its economic growth figures for the second quarter.
On Friday, Chinas customs department said overseas sales of products and services overseas surged 8.6 percent on-year, up from 7.6 percent in May and better than the eight percent forecast in a survey of analysts by Bloomberg.
Exports have historically served as an important economic engine in China, having a direct impact on employment for thousands of companies.
Junes reading marked a third consecutive rise, after a year-on-year decline in March. However, imports unexpectedly dropped 2.3 percent, the data showed, reversing Mays 1.8 percent growth and much worse than the 2.5 percent expected.
"This reflects the economic condition in China, with weak domestic demand and strong production capacity relying on exports," Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said in a note. —AFP
