China's Exports Up 2.3 Pct, Imports Down Four Pct In December 2015

By Samantha Tan BEIJING, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- China's exports in yuan terms rose 2.3 per cent, year-on-year, in December 2015 compared with a 3.7 per cent drop registered in November, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. Imports declined four per cent, an improvement over the previous month's 5.6 per cent contraction, it quoted data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The report said exports rose to 1.43 trillion yuan (US$218 billion) in December while imports dropped to 1.05 trillion yuan. It said total foreign trade value in December eased 0.5 per cent, year-on-year, to 2.48 trillion yuan while monthly trade surplus widened to 382.1 billion yuan from 343.1 billion yuan in November. For 2015, China's foreign trade surplus widened to 3.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 56.7 per cent from 2014. GAC spokesman Huang Songping that the foreign trade decline last year were mainly due to falling commodity prices and sluggish demand The report also said exports fell 1.8 per cent, year-on-year, to 14.14 trillion yuan last year while imports declined 13.2 per cent to 10.45 trillion yuan. Last year, China's total export and import values decreased seven per cent, year-on-year, to 24.59 trillion yuan. -- BERNAMA