China’s Trade Slows Sharply

China’s trade data has suffered its biggest fall since 2008, heightening fears that the economic woes of the United States and Europe will also hit China’s economy.

China’s exports fell to $149.9 billion, 0.5 percent down from a year earlier, due to weak overseas demand and the closure of factories during the Lunar New Year. It was the first time exports fell in more than two years.

Imports were more concerning, with a 15.3 percent plunge bringing total imports to $122.7 billion.

At the same time, China’s global trade surplus swelled to a six month high of $27.3 billion, which is likely to be a talking point when Chinese Communist official Xi Jinping visits the US this week. This swell raises a politically sensitive issue, as the US and other countries have long accused Beijing of hurting their economies by keeping its currency artificially low in order to boost exports and swell its trade surplus.

But falling imports are also a concern for suppliers like Brazil, Australia and South Africa whose economies are heavily reliant on selling commodities.

Analysts said the data cannot be attributed solely to the annual Chinese New Year slowdown, when factories shut down as their workers return home to celebrate the holiday with their families. Others blamed weak overseas demand, as Europe grapples with its debt and the United States with unemployment.

Ren Xianfeng of HIS Global in Beijing told the BBC the sharp import slowdown of 15.3 percent was worrying because it suggested economic output could be slower than headline indicators would have implied.

Chinese authorities have been trying to boost domestic demand in order to transition to a more mature economy that is less reliant on exports, but the January import index by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed domestic demand was falling.

Some individual imports did pick up. The Financial Times reported that preliminary data showed in increase in copper and crude oil in particular. However, other publications note that, after consecutive years of positive growth, China’s slower economy is likely the new norm.