BEIJING, Jan 13 (Reuters) - China's outbound shipments in December rose 10.7% year-on-year, customs data showed on Monday, beating 7.3% growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, and improving from November's 6.7% increase.
Imports surprised to the upside with 1.0% growth, the strongest performance since July 2024. Economists had expected a 1.5% decline.
Chinese officials said the country's trade stabilisation faces "severe challenges", but no matter how external environment changes, China will firmly push for opening up.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House next week, has proposed hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, sparking fears of a renewed trade war between the two superpowers.
Here is a breakdown of China's exports and imports with its biggest trade partners in December.
2024 Dec | Exports ($bln) | Imports ($bln) | Balance ($bln) | Exports +/- % y/y | Imports +/- % y/y | Exports +/- % m/m | Imports +/- % m/m |
Japan | 12.5 | 15.9 | -3.4 | -4.2% | 6.3% | -11.2% | 15.7% |
South Korea | 13.6 | 17.3 | -3.7 | 4.0% | 19.7% | 11.5% | 7.7% |
Taiwan | 6.8 | 20.0 | -13.2 | 14.1% | 14.4% | 3.7% | 4.0% |
European Union | 46.5 | 22.9 | 23.6 | 8.8% | -4.9% | 13.3% | 5.4% |
USA | 48.8 | 15.3 | 33.5 | 15.6% | 2.6% | 3.2% | 23.4% |
Australia | 5.7 | 11.9 | -6.2 | -12.3% | -14.2% | -11.7% | 8.2% |
ASEAN | 59.7 | 37.7 | 22.0 | 18.9% | 5.4% | 11.2% | 12.1% |
(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((Ellen.Zhang@thomsonreuters.com;))
