China Exports Plunge Record 26.4%

China’s exports fell by a record margin in May as the global slump battered trade, while imports also fell sharply, data showed Thursday.

May exports tumbled 26.4 percent from a year earlier, exceeding February’s previous record drop of 25.7 percent, the Chinese customs agency reported.

China’s trade collapsed in late 2008 as the global economic crisis cut demand for Chinese goods, wiping out millions of factory jobs. Analysts say exports will not recover until the U.S. and European economies rebound.

Beijing is trying to shield the world’s third-largest economy from the global downturn by boosting domestic consumption with a 4 trillion yuan ($586 million) package of spending on public works construction and other initiatives.

May imports dropped by 25.2 percent, exceeding April’s 23 percent decline but short of January’s record 43.1 percent drop, according to the customs agency.

China’s demand for iron ore, industrial components and other foreign goods has picked up as companies buy supplies for stimulus-financed projects. But global commodity prices are down from last year’s highs, so imports have declined in financial terms even as they have increased in volume.

China’s global trade surplus in May narrowed to $13.4 billion, down 33 percent the same month in 2008. April’s surplus was $13.1 billion.

6/11/2009 12:15 AM BEIJING (AP)