From AFP:
China’s trade surplus shrank more than 10 percent in the first quarter of 2008 as the Chinese export juggernaut felt the heat of a weaker US economy and a stronger yuan, official data showed Friday.
Higher labour costs and rising world oil prices also had an impact on exports, but strong growth in imports was an equally important factor in the surplus being contained to 41.42 billion dollars, analysts said.
The figure for the three months of the year was 10.8 percent lower than the same period in 2007, which may help to ease some of the tensions China has long felt with its major trading partners over the surplus.
