We discussed previously the slowing of the global economy and the drag on global trade [5] and it appears that despite some hope-ridden headline data from China, things are definitely troubling under the surface. As Bloomberg Brief's Michael McDonough notes, while superficially, export growth was a rare bright spot in the first quarter, it may have been exaggerated by exporters inflating invoices. Excluding exports to Hong Kong, March’s export growth would have fallen 4.8 percent year-on-year compared with the reported 10 percent. China’s exports to 14 of its top 20 trading partners declined in March year-on-year. Tepid global demand may continue to weigh on China’s exports and domestic economy - and in its vicious cycle manner, feed back into global growth (and stain the US 'clean' shirt).
Growth in China exports to its Top 20 trading partners...
[6]
Source: Bloomberg Briefs