The increase was even higher than in the previous month, when experts’ expectations had already been exceeded with an increase of 25.6 percent. Imports, on the other hand, grew more slowly than forecast with only 17.6 percent, after having increased by 33.1 percent in August.
China’s trade surplus rose to $ 66.76 billion (previous month: $ 58.3 billion). The strong growth in Chinese exports must, however, also be seen against the background of the low comparative basis in the previous year, when the effects of the pandemic were only slowly subsiding.
Chinese exports to the EU rose by 30.6 percent, while imports rose by only 1.1 percent. Exports to the US, which has been waging a trade war with China for three years, also rose 30.6 percent. Imports increased by 16.6 percent. In order to settle the conflict, Washington is calling for a significant increase in Chinese imports from the USA, which Beijing has promised but has not yet achieved as promised.
The strong export figures surprised experts who, with reference to the power shortage in China that has persisted for weeks and the subsequent production outages, had expected a lower increase. It was even assumed that the hitherto strong global demand for goods “Made in China” might decrease slightly.
The energy shortage dampened industrial activity in China in September. Due to the transition to cleaner energies, increasing demand with lower production and massive increases in coal prices, many regions in China are lacking sufficient electricity. Factories are often only briefly instructed to stop their production on a daily basis in order to save electricity.
According to experts, rationing and scarcity are expected to increase due to the upcoming heating season in winter and continue into spring.