China 2011首季逆差10.2億美元, 繼二○○三、○四年第一季之後,6年見

China posts first quarterly trade deficit in 7 years

by D'Arcy Doran – Sun Apr 10, 3:04 am ET http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110410/ts_afp/chinaeconomyexportssurplus

 

SHANGHAI (AFP) – China said it had posted its first quarterly trade deficit in seven years, despite a narrow surplus in March, as rising commodity prices pushed manufacturers' costs higher.

China recorded a small trade deficit of $1.02 billion for the first quarter, its first since the beginning of 2004. But analysts said a large trade surplus was expected for the full year as its exports tend to grow later in the year.

"China's demand is strong and the prices of bulk commodities are high currently, but the situation won't last as China's exports usually go up in the second half of each year," UBS economist Wang Tao told Dow Jones Newswires.

Exports rose 26.5 percent on year in the first quarter and imports were up 32.6 percent on year.

The quarter's trade deficit was due to the strong rise in imports, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement.

"The value of imports in the first quarter hit a record high for the first time of more than $400 billion," the customs administration said.

For the month of March, China bounced back to a $140 million surplus after posting a $7.3 billion-trade deficit in February -- its first since March 2010.

February's slowdown was typical of China's festive season, when factories ease off -- and in most cases close -- after cranking up production before the Lunar New Year holiday.

March exports rose 35.8 percent from the same month a year earlier, up from February's 2.4 percent rise.

Imports rose 27.3 percent, up from 19.4 percent in February. Rising prices for raw materials helped push up the value of imports.

The March surplus caught analysts by surprise. A Dow Jones poll of 13 economists had forecast a median monthly deficit of $4.0 billion for March.

In 2010, China posted a $7.24 billion deficit in March, as companies stocked up on imported raw materials, many of which were later processed into goods for export. For the full year, China posted a $183.1 billion surplus.

Analysts said the quarterly trade deficit suggested China was making progress in rebalancing its export-reliant economy.

"The rebalancing is happening. It's only a matter of time," BNP Paribas economist Isaac Meng told Dow Jones, adding rising import prices were eroding the surplus while domestic inflation was raising export prices.

Washington, one of the harshest critics of Beijing's trade policy, acknowledged in March that China was taking steps to boost imports.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said last month that China had no alternative but to shift its growth strategy towards relying more on domestic growth as demand weakens in the US and Europe -- but added it needed to do more.

China is planning to cut tariffs on imports as it seeks to boost domestic demand, state media has reported.

The state-run China Daily quoted Vice Commerce Minister Zhing Shan last month as saying not only would the government cut tariffs, but it would also relax some restrictions on importers.

China Posts Narrow March Trade Surplus

BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China posted a narrow $140 million trade surplus in March, swinging from a $7.3 billion deficit in February, customs data showed Sunday.

China 2011首季逆差10.2億美元 6年僅見

• 2011-04-11中國時報【李文輝／綜合報導】

    　大陸海關總署十日發布，今年第一季中國外貿進出口總值為八○○三億美元（下同），受大陸經濟保持較快增長、國際市場大宗商品價格大幅上漲、以及春節長假等三大因素影響，今年第一季累計出現一○．二億元的貿易逆差，是六年來首見的季度貿易逆差。
    　海關統計，今年一到三月，進出口總值比去年同期（下同）增長二九．五％；其中出口三九九六．四億元，增長二六．五％；進口四○○六．六億元，增長三二．六％。
    　統計顯示，大陸第一季進口總值首次超過四千億元，創下歷史新高，比去年第四季增加五．一％，造成一○．二億元的貿易逆差，這是繼二○○三、○四年第一季之後，再次出現的季度貿易逆差。去年第一季是貿易順差一三九．一億元。
    　在大陸主要貿易夥伴中，第一季中歐雙邊貿易總值一二三七億元，增長二二％。中美九七六．五億元，增長二五％。中日八○七．八億元，增長二七．一％。東協少於日本十四．四億元位居第四，為七九三．四億元，增長二六．一％。
    　《中新社》報導，國際貨幣基金組織量化解讀中國經濟的全球影響，發現中國經濟每增長一％，三年後就將為全球經濟積累出○．二％的ＧＤＰ增長，五年後則帶動全球經濟增長○．四％。
    　有「中國資本市場中最活躍企業家」之稱的復星集團董事長郭廣昌，九日在美國哈佛大學「中國論壇」指出，中國經濟「發動機」動力來自幾個方面，一是中國製造業仍有很大競爭力，短期內很難被其他國家取代。
    　其次是中國城市化有巨大空間，保證經濟發展基礎；三是中國消費能力也在不斷增長。最重要的是，中國人希望通過自己努力、改變生活狀況的願望，誰也阻止不了。