China: Imports outperformed exports – ING

Iris Pang, economist at ING, notes that the Chinese exports shrank by 2.7% YoY in April, while imports grew 4% YoY.

Key Quotes

“Two sectors, which are undergoing structural change, continued to see exports contract:

• Smart devices fell 19% year-to-date. This export item alone contributed more than 5% of total imports.
• Automobiles and related parts fell 1.2% YTD and 3.5% YTD, respectively.”

“In contrast, imports grew 4% YoY. But don’t get too excited; the details show that most items actually contracted on a year-on-year basis. Crude oil imports are an exception, growing 16% YoY, probably to fulfil the strategic needs of the government.”

“We are not particularly optimistic on China’s export and import data in coming months.”