Despite recent reports about manufacturers fleeing China amid rising wages, China’s dominance in the export field is still going strong, according to new statistics out this week. From the Australian:
The latest evidence of China’s prowess came yesterday, when it reported that exports hit $US162 billion ($151bn) in June and $US874bn in the first half of the year, both records and up nearly 20 per cent from the year-earlier periods.
The growth, which came despite economic difficulties in key markets like the US and Europe and supply-chain disruptions in Japan, is bound to boost pressure from the US and others on Beijing to let the yuan appreciate further and faster.
China’s closely watched trade surplus for June widened to more than $US22bn, from $US13bn in May, figures which indicate a lack of progress toward the Group of 20 nations’ goal of rebalancing global growth. China’s trade surplus for the first half of the year, though, was down 18 per cent, reflecting its increased buying of raw materials used in infrastructure projects, which sent the value of imports up even faster than exports.
The export performance comes despite rising costs for Chinese manufacturers, which are dealing with the highest inflation in three years, government-directed wage increases and a yuan that has strengthened more than 5.5 per cent against the US dollar in the roughly 13 months since China let it go — although it has weakened against other major currencies in that period.
