• Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Email
Saturday, June 28, 2025
  • Login
TheMattersPress
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Thematterspress
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Photo
    • Video
  • About us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Thematterspress
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Photo
    • Video
  • About us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
TheMattersPress
No Result
View All Result
Home News

China’s trade surplus with U.S dips

The Matters Press by The Matters Press
March 8, 2019
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
China’s trade surplus with U.S dips

Trade

China, U.S trade

China’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed to 14.72 billion dollars in February, from 27.3 billion dollars in January, customs data showed on Friday.

RELATED POSTS

Tinubu’s N60b Intervention in Gombe Agro-Livestock Zone excites group

N1.5trn recapitalisation of Agric bank will herald food security – TMV

Lamido Wrong on Tinubu’s June 12 Role, haunted by his anti-democratic past- TDF

For January-February combined, China’s trade surplus with the U.S. stood at 42.1 billion dollars.

China’s large trade surplus with the United States has long been a sore point with Washington, and is at the center of a bitter dispute between the two countries.

In 2018, the two governments imposed tit-for-tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

While seasonal factors may have been at play, the shockingly weak readings from the world’s largest trading nation added to worries about a global slowdown, a day after the European Central Bank slashed growth forecasts for the region.

Asian stock markets and U.S. futures extended early losses after the data. Chinese stocks sank over 3 per cent.

Global investors and China’s major trading partners are closely watching Beijing’s policy reactions as economic growth cools from last year’s 28-year low.

February exports fell 20.7 per cent from a year earlier, the largest decline since February 2016, customs data showed.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 4.8 per cent drop after January’s unexpected 9.1 per cent jump.

“Today’s trade figures reinforce our view that China’s trade recession has started to emerge,” Raymond Yeung, Greater China chief economist at ANZ, wrote in a note.

“Chinese exports already registered negative growth in December. The strong figures in January were not reliable due to distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday period.”

Imports fell 5.2 per cent from a year earlier, worse than analysts’ forecasts for a 1.4 per cent fall and widening from January’s 1.5 per cent drop.

Imports of major commodities fell across the board.

That left the country with a trade surplus of 4.12 billion dollars for the month, much smaller than forecasts of 26.38 billion dollars.

Analysts warn that data from China in the first two months of the year should be read with caution due to business disruptions caused by the long Lunar New Year holidays, which came in mid-February in 2018 but started on Feb. 4 this year.

But many China watchers had expected a weak start to the year as factory surveys showed dwindling domestic and export orders and the Sino-U.S. trade war dragged on.

The poor China data comes amid months of intense negotiations between Washington and Beijing aimed at ending their trade dispute.

On Wednesday, the U.S. reported its goods trade deficit with China surged to an all-time high last year, underlining one of the key sticking points in the talks.

China’s data on Friday showed its surplus with the United States narrowed to 14.72 billion dollars in February from 27.3 billion dollars in January, and it has promised to buy more U.S. goods such as agricultural products as part of the trade discussions.

U.S President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that trade talks were moving along well and predicted either a “good deal” or no deal between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump postponed a sharp U.S. tariff hike slated for early March as the talks progressed, but both Washington and Beijing have kept previous duties in place.

At the same time, global demand has been weakening, particularly in Europe. China’s exports to all of its major markets fell across the board last month.

The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Friday that trade talks had made substantive progress, and that the two countries’ relations should not descend into confrontation.

China’s economy was already slowing last year before trade tensions escalated, due in part to a regulatory clampdown on riskier lending that starved smaller, private companies of financing and stifled investment.

The government is targeting economic growth of 6.0 to 6.5 per cent in 2019, Premier Li Keqiang said at Tuesday’s opening of the annual meeting of China’s parliament, a lower target than set for 2018.

Actual growth last year slowed to 6.6 per cent, and is expected to cool further to 6.2 per cent this year.

Many analysts expect a rocky first half before a flurry of stimulus measures start to stabilize activity around mid-year.

China’s slowdown and the trade war are having an increasing impact on other trade-reliant countries and businesses worldwide.

Japan’s exports in January fell the most in more than two years as China-bound shipments tumbled.

On Thursday, automotive chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp said it plans to halt production at six plants in Japan for up to two months this year as it braces for a further slowdown in Chinese demand.

Graphic: Trends in China’s trade and other major economic indicators – tmsnrt.rs/2iO9Q6a)

Tags: ChinaTradeU.S
ShareTweetPin
The Matters Press

The Matters Press

Related Posts

$2.5 billion JBS investment, a big economic victory for Nigeria –  TDF
Economy/Technology

Tinubu’s N60b Intervention in Gombe Agro-Livestock Zone excites group

June 27, 2025
ActionAid, SWOFON call for urgent completion of BOA recapitalisation
Agriculture

N1.5trn recapitalisation of Agric bank will herald food security – TMV

June 26, 2025
Lamido Wrong on Tinubu’s June 12 Role, haunted by his anti-democratic past- TDF
Energy

Lamido Wrong on Tinubu’s June 12 Role, haunted by his anti-democratic past- TDF

June 25, 2025
Tinubu’s Visit to Benue, Mark of True Leadership, Renewed Hope
News

Tinubu’s Visit to Benue, Mark of True Leadership, Renewed Hope

June 25, 2025
79 candidates for presidential election
News

Tinubu’s new INEC building: A consolidation of democratic institutions, legacy in Nigeria – TDF

June 23, 2025
Gombe: Troops take over to enforce peace
News

Nigerian Army kills 6,260 terrorists, rescues 5,365 civilians in 2 years

June 20, 2025
Next Post
Nigerians vote to elect 29 governors

Nigerians vote to elect 29 governors

Army sends more troops to repel insurgents

Heavy security as Nigerians vote

Recommended Stories

Trading in Nigerian stock market dips further N83bn

Stock market capitalisation gains N836bn

March 13, 2024
Egypt’s economic strides excite AfDB

Adesina revolutionised Nigeria’s agricultural sector–Expert

June 14, 2023
Coronavirus hits hard as China records 811 deaths

COVID-19: Time to Stand by China

February 13, 2020

Popular Stories

  • Rising prices of goods cause protests in Morocco

    Rising prices of goods cause protests in Morocco

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NLNG not responsible for gas supply shortfall, price hike

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NCC sets fresh operational fees, spectrum prices for telecom operators

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hoarding causes hike in prices of grains

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Prices of Petrol, diesel increase in November

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
TheMattersPress

We bring you the best news update in Nigeria

LEARN MORE »

Recent Posts

  • Tinubu’s N60b Intervention in Gombe Agro-Livestock Zone excites group
  • N1.5trn recapitalisation of Agric bank will herald food security – TMV
  • Lamido Wrong on Tinubu’s June 12 Role, haunted by his anti-democratic past- TDF

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Economy/Technology
  • Energy
  • Entertainment/sports
  • Features
  • Foreign
  • Multimedia
  • Natural Resources
  • News
  • Oil and Gas
  • Photo
  • Politics
  • Security
  • Thematterspress
  • Uncategorized
  • Video

© 2025 Domo Tech World - Powered by Thematterspress.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Thematterspress
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Photo
    • Video
  • About us
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Domo Tech World - Powered by Thematterspress.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Call Us