China’s Trade Plunges More Than Forecast in Blow to Recovery

(Bloomberg) — China’s exports fell for a third straight month in July amid a slump in global demand, while imports plunged as domestic pressures also undermined the economy’s recovery.

Overseas shipments dropped 14.5% in dollar terms last month from a year earlier — the worst decline since February 2020 — while imports contracted 12.4%, the customs administration said Tuesday. That left a trade surplus of $80.6 billion for the month. Economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast that exports would drop 13.2% while imports would shrink 5.6%.