FILE PHOTO: Containers are seen at Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China October 19, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) – China’s exports fell again in the January-February period from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, while imports also fell again and at a faster pace. rapidly, reflecting the slowdown in the global economy and the weakness in the domestic economy. asked.

Chinese exports in the two months were 6.8% lower than a year earlier, better than a Reuters poll that predicted a 9.4% drop in exports. Imports fell 10.2%, far exceeding the survey’s estimate of a 5.5% decline.

In December, exports fell 9.9% annually due to slowing global demand, while imports fell 7.5%.

The customs agency releases combined trade data for January and February to smooth out distortions caused by the Lunar New Year date change, which fell in January this year.

However, imports are expected to continue to recover gradually as consumer confidence returns following the lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions in December. Chinese authorities have been quick to warn that exports could suffer as the risk of a global recession increases.

Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday that the government has set an economic growth target of around 5% for 2023. Foreign trade is expected to dampen economic growth this year, analysts said.

Last year, the economy grew 3% faster than in 2021, missing the official growth target of around 5.5%.

In a sign that the economic recovery is underway, manufacturing activity in China rose in February at its fastest pace in more than a decade, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed last week, with an increase in news export orders for the first time since April 2021.

However, readings of factory activity in other Asian economies in February were more pessimistic, reinforcing the view that conditions abroad are bleak.

Domestic consumption and services have led the recovery in China so far this year.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said on Thursday that “consumption has rebounded markedly since the start of the year” and production since March 2021.

However, at the same press conference, Wang also warned that the pressure on Chinese imports and exports would increase significantly this year, due to the risk of a global recession and weakening foreign demand.

(Reporting by Joe Cash and Ellen Zhang; Editing by Bradley Perrett, Spanish editing by José Muñoz)

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