BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2015/11
y-o-y and imports dropping by 20 % y-o-y. The growth in exports reflected recovering demand in China’s main export markets in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. Exports to Russia and Japan contracted.
While the reduction in the value of imports largely reflected the on-going drop in global commodity prices, import volumes of commodities also declined. In addition to basic commodities, the value of other imported goods fell in the first two months of this year. This demonstrates the weak domestic demand, which is further indicated by the slowdown in industrial output growth despite strong exports.
The massive goods trade surplus is to some extent offset in the current account by the deficit in services trade, which continues to rise as Chinese travel abroad. Last year the goods trade surplus amounted to $470 billion, while the services trade deficit was just under $200 billion, with some 60 % of the services trade deficit generated by foreign travel. The number of Chinese tourist travelling abroad and the amounts they spend are expected to rise rapidly also in coming years.