Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/07
By JOE McDONALD , AP Business Writer, Associated Press

In this March 4, 2020 photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers labor in a garment workshop while wearing masks at a foreign trade company in Neiq…

BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports fell by double digits in January and February as anti-virus controls closed factories, while imports sank by a smaller margin.

Exports tumbled 17.2% from a year earlier to $292.4 billion, a sharp reverse from December’s 7.8% rise, customs data showed Saturday. Imports declined 4% to $299.5 billion, down from the previous month’s 16.3% gain.

Trade was poised for a boost after Beijing and Washington removed punitive tariffs on some of each other’s goods in a trade truce. But those gains were offset by Chinese anti-virus controls that shut down much of the world’s second-largest economy starting in late January.

Exports to the United States plunged 27.7% in January and February to $43 billion, worsening from December’s 12.5% decline. Imports of American goods crept up 2.5% to $17.6 billion, but China still recorded a $25.4 billion trade surplus with the United States.   [FULL  STORY]