China's Exports in Yuan Terms Fall 3.5% in March... Q1 Down 11.4% (Update)

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Due to the impact of COVID-19, China's exports in March decreased by 3.5% in yuan terms. The export decline for the first quarter was 11.4%.

On the 14th, the General Administration of Customs of China announced that China's exports in March recorded 1.29 trillion yuan, down 3.5% year-on-year in yuan terms. Considering that experts had initially expected an export decline of 12.8%, this is a relatively strong figure.

This is also somewhat improved compared to the 15.9% decrease in exports in yuan terms for January and February. Thus, exports for the first quarter (January to March) totaled 3.33 trillion yuan, down 11.4%.

China's imports in March increased by 2.4% to 1.16 trillion yuan. Reflecting the 2.4% decrease in imports for January and February, total imports for the first quarter amounted to 3.24 trillion yuan, a 0.7% decrease year-on-year.

China's trade surplus for the first quarter this year was 98.33 billion yuan, down 80.6% compared to the same period last year. China's trade volume with the United States decreased by 18.3%, with Europe by 10.4%, and trade with Japan declined by 8.1%.

Li Kuiyuan, spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs, stated, "With the global spread of COVID-19, the world economy is facing downward pressure. Uncertainty is increasing. China's foreign trade is also facing difficulties."

Meanwhile, the export and import figures in dollar terms for March have not yet been announced.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.