Global News Of Note: China’s Yearly Exports Fall For First Times Since 2016
What happens abroad impacts MSCI members in North America. Here is the latest economic, trade, and other policy news of note for the last week:
- In dollar terms, exports from China contracted in 2023, the first time since 2016 that total shipments from the country fell. Exports were down 4.6 percent. According to Nikkei, a double-digit contraction in commodities, including rare earth and aluminum, led the overall decline. Total exports to the United States fell 13 percent from 2022 to 2023 and demand from the European Union and southeast Asian countries also shrank. Exports to Russia expanded significantly, however, rising 47 percent. Total imports were down 5.5 percent.
- China’s iron ore imports hit a record in 2023, rising 6.6 percent from the year before and hitting 1.18 billion metric tons. According to Reuters, a lack of government-mandated steel output caps and higher-than-expected steel exports contributed to the increase. Reuters noted the 2023 import total marked the first rise since 2020 when China introduced a cap on its annual steel output in 2021 and 2022 to help reduce carbon emissions. Read more here.