China April Exports Down 22.6%, Investments Up 30.5%

 

China’s exports plunged 22.6 percent in April from the year before in the sixth straight monthly decline, the government said Tuesday, while a torrent in bank lending meant to ward off the economic downturn pushed up spending on factories, real estate and other fixed assets.

April’s decline in exports, to $91.9 billion, was bigger than the 17 percent drop in March and suggests China’s trade sector has yet to see much relief from the prolonged drought in demand brought on by the global downturn.

China’s economy — the world’s third-largest after the U.S. and Japan — relies heavily on exports for growth.

Imports fell 23 percent to $78.8 billion, the Customs Administration reported, putting China’s trade surplus for April at $13.1 billion. That compared with an $18.6 billion surplus in March.

Meanwhile, investment in factories and property development jumped 30.5 percent from a year earlier in the first four months of the year, to 3.71 trillion yuan ($543.2 billion), thanks to a slew of bank loans for government stimulus projects.

The growth rate was 1.9 percentage points higher than in January-March, the National Statistics Bureau said.

5/11/2009 11:28 PM SHANGHAI (AP)