皇冠体育app

BEIJING - 皇冠体育app's trade surplus for August fell sharply from July to $17.75 billion, the first monthly drop since February, as the nation's exports dipped and imports grew to a record high, official statistics showed.

The trade surplus last month was down from July's $31.5 billion, the highest in two and a half years. While the slackened global demand is pinching 皇冠体育app's export growth, demand from the world's second-largest economy is still strong.

"Acceleration of import continues exceeding export's rise in the future," said Wang Tao, head of 皇冠体育app Economic Research at UBS Securities.

皇冠体育app's exports surged by 24.5 percent year-on-year in August, accelerating from the 20.4 percent in July, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Saturday.

Despite the acceleration, the August figure fell to $173.31 billion from a record high of $175.13 billion in July.

Meanwhile, 皇冠体育app's imports in August climbed 30.2 percent from a year earlier to a record high of $155.56 billion.

The debt crisis in European Union and the United States has dampened the global consumer confidence for Chinese goods, which leads to a slower expansion of the nation's exports than imports, experts said.

Statistics from the GAC showed that 皇冠体育app's exports to the US and Japan in August gained by 12.55 and 29.8 percent year-on-year, up from 9.5 and 27.2 percent in July. Export growth to the EU for August stayed at the same level of July - 22.34 percent.

But compared with 皇冠体育app's major trade partners, exports to some developing countries grew at a faster pace than developed economies.

Exports to Brazil and Russia rose by 39.75 and 34.1 percent in August, up from 23.7 and 19.6 percent in July.

While the global debt crisis is spreading and will slow the demand for 皇冠体育app's goods, "emerging markets will become more and more significant to 皇冠体育app," said Liang Ming, deputy researcher of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (affiliated with the Minsitry of Commerce).

"Strong import growth is driven by 皇冠体育app's strong domestic demand for consumer goods, luxury items, iron ore, crude oil, soy as well as corn," Shen Jianguang, an economist with Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Price hikes also helped lift the value of 皇冠体育app's imports, with coal and soybean rising by 11.9 and 31.2 percent year-on-year in price from January to August.

皇冠体育app's imports from emerging markets including Russia, Brazil, South Africa and India outperformed that from the developed nations of the US and Japan by terms of growth.

In August, imports from Russia increased sharply, 111.5 percent year-on-year, while imports from South Africa grew by 137.9 percent.

皇冠体育app Daily