China’s exports rose by more than 32 percent in June compared to a year earlier. As a result, exports increased faster than in the previous month, according to figures from Chinese customs. On the other hand, economists expected that scarcity of raw materials and parts would slow down exports.
In May, exports rose by just under 28 percent. Economists had generally expected a 23 percent increase in June.
Global demand for Chinese-made products has increased enormously during the corona pandemic, such as medical devices and electronics for working from home. At the same time, industry in many other parts of the world was still struggling with the effects of the corona pandemic, while in China, it was already back to normal.
But now that the economic recovery has largely started outside China, experts expect that the export of the People’s Republic will increase less rapidly than in recent months. In addition to the scarcity of raw materials, considerably higher transport costs are also an obstacle. In addition, production capacity outside China is increasing, which means that the world should be less dependent on the Chinese industry.
According to economist Zhou Hao of Commerzbank, the increase in Chinese exports is mainly due to strong price increases. Iron ore, for example, has become much more expensive, and these higher costs are passed on in export prices.
Chinese imports also rose sharply. According to customs, this was an increase of 36.7 percent. A month earlier, there was an even more substantial increase of more than 51 percent. As a result, the trade surplus stood at $51.5 billion in June. That is the largest surplus since January.
