The Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese goods by 20 percent in February. On March 10, Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist at Ping An Securities, stated that the impact of these tariff hikes has started to show in Chinese trade data. In the first week of March, there was a decline in the year-on-year growth rate of operating capacity in sectors of the Chinese economy such as steel plates, textiles, and automobiles. The decline is linked overseas tariffs and general reduced demand for Chinese exports.
Zhong pointed out that freight indicators also reflect these effects. According to the Chinese Ministry of Transport, as of the week ending March 2, port container throughput (about 50 percent of which is foreign trade, typically involving exports of transporting machinery, textiles, home appliances, and light industrial products) increased by only 2.8 percent year-on-year, a 4.3 percentage-point drop from the previous figure year’s rate of change. International cargo flights (primarily used for high-value products like consumer electronics and cross-border e-commerce) saw a 25.8 percent year-on-year increase, a 1.2 percentage-point drop from the prior year’s figure. Port cargo throughput (about 30 percent of which is related to foreign trade) rose by 2.5 percent year-on-year, a 2.2 percentage-point drop from the previous figure.
Data recently released by China’s General Administration of Customs showed that, in dollar terms, China’s exports grew by 2.3 percent year-on-year in January and February, short of the expected 5 percent growth and was a significant slowdown from the 10.7 percent growth rate recorded in December.
Source: Epoch Times, March 13, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/3/13/n14457529.htm