bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Yujing Liu

China’s trade surplus with the United States in January narrowed from December to US$21.9 billion, but the improvement is unlikely to do much to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies, analysts said.
The reason for that is that while the gap narrowed by US$3.7 billion, or 14.5 per cent, from December, it actually rose by US$500 million, or 2.3 per cent from January 2017, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs on Thursday.
Furthermore, while the monthly improvement appeared sizeable, China’s overall trade surplus in January shrank by 60 per cent from December, the figures showed.
A year on from Donald Trump entering the White House, bilateral trade remains a huge bone of contention between Washington and Beijing, with former top US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler saying this week that punitive action from the US on China was imminent.
China’s exports remain strong in January as imports grow 30pc
“China’s overall surplus shrank, but the gap with the US barely narrowed,” said Zhou Hao, a senior economist at Commerzbank in Singapore.
“This suggests that the trade imbalance with the US is a structural problem, and will be there as long as the US economy is on a recovery trajectory.”

Adjusting that structure and finding alternative destinations for its goods would take China time, but it was unclear how much longer the US would be prepared to wait, Zhou said.
“Trump has toughened his overall stance toward China, but he is also fickle,” he said.
Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ, said that while more “noise” from the Trump administration on the trade imbalance was inevitable, the chances of an all-out trade war were slim.


“The actions and reactions [by the US and China] have been there for a decade,” he said. “I don’t see any sign of a trade war happening this year.”
Punitive US trade action against China ‘imminent’, former top trade negotiator warns
Trump has, however, taken some concrete steps to deliver on his campaign promise to reduce the United States’ trade deficit. Last month, he implemented a 30 per cent tariff on all imports of solar panels and washing machines. China is the world’s largest producer of solar panels.
Yeung, however, said that the duty on solar panels was “actually doing China a favour”, as it would help it to reduce overcapacity in the industry.
Also, China’s shipments to the US accounted for just 0.6 per cent of its total solar panel exports, he said.

In a countermove, Beijing on Sunday launched an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into imports of sorghum from the US, an action likely to immediately hit demand for the product.




While the US has long accused China of unfair trade practices, Beijing insists that its trade surplus is the result of an economic reality and not contrived.
The upside for China in the US stock market plunge – from the Chinese economist who tipped a big fall
The US Commerce Department said in January that the United States’ trade deficit with China rose to a record US$375 billion in 2017, from US$347 billion a year earlier. Beijing agreed that its surplus with the US had reached a new high, but put the figure at US$275.8 billion.
China’s customs agency said on Thursday that in dollar terms, imports from the US in January rose 26.5 per cent year on year, compared with a 36.9 per cent gain for all imports.
Exports to the US, meanwhile, rose 12.7 per cent, against an 11.1 per cent rise for all foreign shipments.
China’s economic figures for the first two months of each year are distorted by the fact that its factories and offices close for several weeks for the Lunar New Year holiday. This year’s holiday runs from February 15-21, later than last year, when it began in January.



Torch of international cooperation to burn despite Trump return

Temu owner PDD sees 10% plunge in pre-market trading despite 44% revenue growth

An advanced degree in China? Think again, students say, as exam numbers plunge

China’s second-richest man blasts Pinduoduo for hurting brands with cutthroat pricing

China economy

China’s trade gap with US narrows, but Donald Trump is unlikely to be smiling about it

January surplus falls 14.5 per cent from December, but rises 2.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to customs data

FILE PHOTO: Container boxes are seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port, part of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, in Shanghai, China September 24, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

A year on from President Donald Trump entering the White House, the US-China trade gap remains a huge bone of contention between Washington and Beijing. Photo: Reuters

News

China

Economy

China Economy

Money & Wealth

Diplomacy

January surplus falls 14.5 per cent from December, but rises 2.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to customs data


Trade