China trade continues sliding; surplus soars in May

Beijing

CHINA's trade continued to slide in May, putting more pressure on Beijing to further ease policies. Exports dipped 2.8 per cent, and imports fell 17.6 per cent in the seventh consecutive monthly drop, custom figures showed on Monday. This left a record trade surplus of US$59.49 billion for May alone.

Though the export data was above analysts' expectations, the severe drop in imports showed that domestic demand had yet to pick up, despite stimulus measures having been implemented over the past nine months. So far, the government has cut interest rates thrice and reserve-requirement ratios twice, to ease credit conditions for companies. It has also lowered minimum downpayment levels on second homes to support the sluggish real estate sector, one of the backbones of the economy.