Foreign trade and car market strong: China: have almost caught up with the corona slump

There are encouraging signals from China. Foreign trade is growing significantly, and the slump caused by the corona virus has almost caught up. The car market also remains true to its role as a bearer of hope.

China's foreign trade continues to recover from the corona crisis. The exports of the second largest economy rose in September year-on-year by 9.9 percent, as the Beijing Customs Administration announced. Accordingly, imports increased by 13.2 percent in the same period. Overall, Chinese foreign trade amounted to a volume of around 443 billion US dollars (around 375 billion euros) last month.

According to the official information, the slump in the spring caused by the corona virus could almost be made up by the end of the third quarter. Calculated in US dollars, exports from January to September still fell by 1.8 percent. Calculated in the Chinese currency yuan, foreign trade was up 0.7 percent again.

With strict measures such as the cordoning off of megacities, strict isolation and entry bans, China has brought the virus under control faster than other states. That is why the economy in the People's Republic has recently grown noticeably again. The Chinese car market made up further ground in September. Last month, 1.94 million cars, SUVs and smaller multi-purpose vehicles were sold to end customers. That was 7.4 percent more than in the same month last year, as the industry association PCA (China Passenger Car Association) announced in Beijing. It is the third month in a row with increases compared to the same period last year.

Due to the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the year as a whole is likely to be the third year with a decline in sales. After nine months, the backlog of 13.15 million cars is 12.5 percent.

China is by far the most important single market for the German car groups Volkswagen (including Audi and Porsche), Daimler and BMW. Audi, BMW and Daimler already presented their sales data for the third quarter last week and reported strong sales in China. Next Monday, the Beijing statistical office will present the growth figures for the third quarter. Observers assume that the economy is likely to see another significant increase, similar to the second quarter.