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China's Exports Drop 23% in July

by candice.tsuei | August 10, 2009 at 10:22 pm

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China's exports dropped 23% in July from a year early, extending the 21.4% decline from June, according to custom officials.

Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated on Aug. 9 that monetary policy and a “proactive” fiscal stance will remain unchanged because of problems including sliding export demand and industrial overcapacity.

Although the new figures suggested that the economy has taken a heavy hit from the global crisis in the second quarter, the government's massive 4 trillion yuan (US $585 billion) stimulus package focusing on infrastructure has made the government's goal of 8% growth this year well within reach.

July's exports, falling for the ninth month straight, totaled US $105.42 billion, while imports totaled US $94.79 billion. In the first seven months of the year, the trade surplus totaled US $107.5 billion.

The output figures were among a series of economic data, including investment, inflation and retail sales, released by the statistics agency, which showed that the world's third-largest economy was getting back in gear, but perhaps more gradually than expected.