China’s trade surplus at record $101 billion in July as exports grow 18%

Exports in dollar terms grew 18 per cent from a year earlier. Despite waning global demand and failing appetite for imports, China’s exports grew faster than expected, providing support for an economy battling sporadic Covid outbreaks and structural and macroeconomic issues.

While China’s economic activity rebounded in July as the Covid-related restrictions and bottlenecks in production and logistics eased further, recovery remained fragile as domestic demand slowed down amidst fresh virus flareups.

And, despite high crude prices, China’s imports rose just 2.3 per cent, compared with a 1 per cent rise in June, indicating weak domestic demand. Inbound shipments of commodities, including soybeans, natural gas and copper, declined on a monthly basis. 

China’s trade with India rose the highest, reaching $79.77 billion during the first seven months of 2022, up 18 per cent year-on-year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on Sunday.

China’s exports to India were valued at $68.63 billion in the first seven months of the year while its imports from India stood at $11.14 billion.

As of July, China's cumulative export volume to India has maintained a high growth rate of 37 per cent, 2.5 percentage points higher than the rate in June, and the highest growth rate recorded since January 2022.

China-India trade is on course to surpass $100 billion for the second consecutive year in 2022.

After falling in 2020-21, India's trade deficit with China widened in 2021-22 and continues to do so in 2022-23, data provided by the ministry of commerce showed. 

In the financial year 2021-22(FY22), China had a trade surplus of $72.9 billion with India, which was up nearly $29 billion from the previous year’s figure of $44 billion. 

India’s overall merchandise trade deficit in the 2021-22 fiscal was $192.24 billion, an increase of 87 per cent from the previous year.