(Yicai) Aug. 8 -- China’s exports sank last month by the most since February 2020, tumbling 14.5 percent from a year earlier to the lowest in five months because of the lack of recovery momentum in the global economy.

Exports tallied about USD281.8 billion in July, while imports dropped 12.4 percent to USD201.2 billion, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs today. Overall foreign trade fell 13.6 percent to USD482.9 billion and the trade surplus shrank 19.4 percent to USD80.6 billion.

In the first seven months of the year, trade was down 6.1 percent at USD3.4 trillion. Exports stood at USD1.94 trillion, a 5 percent dip, while imports slipped 7.6 percent to USD1.46 trillion. The trade surplus widened 3.5 percent to USD489.6 billion.

The slowdown in foreign trade growth is related to the high comparative base in the third quarter of last year, said Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, adding that the external challenges are still huge.

“A number of institutions predict that the slowdown in the European and North American economies will bottom out at the end of this year or early next year, though there is still a chance of recession,” Bai told Yicai. “That will make the external environment facing the country’s foreign trade more severe.”

“The global economic recovery lacks momentum, world trade and investment have slowed, and the risks around unilateralism, protectionism, and geopolitics have intensified,” Lv Daliang, a GAC spokesperson, recently noted.

“The direct impact of weakening external demand on our foreign trade is still ongoing,” Lv said, adding that the fundamentals sustaining China’s long-term economic growth remain unchanged, however.

Coupled with a good industrial system and complete production capacity, foreign trade growth is resilient and has much room to bounce back and a series of policies and measures to steady trade are now taking effect, he said.

Editor: Peter Thomas