China's October trade darkens on global slowdown, COVID curbs

First contraction for monthly imports and exports in over two years

A Chinese container ship is unloaded in Hamburg, Germany. As October exports contracted for the first time since May 2020, one analyst blamed "falling shipments to the EU and the U.S." © Reuters

CK TAN, Nikkei staff writer

November 7, 2022 13:01 JST

Updated on November 7, 2022 16:20 JST

SHANGHAI -- China's trade picture darkened in October with both exports and imports contracting for the first time in more than two years as the global economic slowdown and strict COVID curbs took a toll.

Outbound shipments unexpectedly shrunk by 0.3%, well off a 5.7% expansion in September, while imports declined by 0.7%, reversing a 0.3% rise a month earlier, according to official data published Monday.