Wind turbine blades are expected to be exported to a factory in Nantong, eastern China, on March 2, 2021. (AFP)
China’s export growth jumped to a two-decade high, official figures showed on Sunday, and imports also rose in a sharp rebound from the coronavirus outbreak that nearly halted activity.
Exports of electronics and textiles, such as masks, contributed to the increase in outbound shipments, as demand for supplies to work from home and virus protection equipment increased during the pandemic. .
Exports increased by 60.6% year-on-year during the January-February period, above analysts’ expectations and increased by shipments of electronics and masks, while imports increased by 22.2%, according to the official data Sunday.
The latest customs figures contrast with last year’s fall of about 17% in exports and 4% in imports.
The country struggled to contain the spread of Covid-19 from the start, with consumers staying home and businesses seeing a slow return to operations.
It is likely that the comparison with last year also strengthened the latest figures.
China’s trade surplus reached $ 103.3 billion, its customs administration said.
Chinese authorities began combining trade data from January and February last year as they battled the coronavirus outbreak.
This is in line with the way some other indicators are published, to soften the distortions of the lunar New Year holidays, which can fall in either month.
On Sunday, official data showed that exports of electronics rose 54.1 percent, while textiles with masks rose 50.2 percent.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)