China grabs biggest share of global exports

Shanghai

CHINESE exporters have found a silver lining in weak global demand by seizing market share from their competitors - good news for China but an expansion that is aggravating trade tensions. China's proportion of global exports rose to 13.8 per cent last year from 12.3 per cent in 2014, data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment shows, the highest share any country has enjoyed since the United States in 1968.

The success belies widespread predictions rising costs for Chinese labour and a currency that has increased nearly 20 per cent against the dollar in the last decade would cause China to lose market share to cheaper competitors.