Beijing: China’s export engine hit a significant snag in October, with outbound shipments falling by 1.1 % year on year the worst performance since February. After a robust 8.3 % increase in September, the unexpected decline stood in sharp contrast to market expectations of around 3.0 % growth.

A key factor behind this reversal is the sharp drop in demand from the United States. China’s shipments to the U.S. tumbled by roughly 25 %, underscoring how exposed China’s manufacturing export complex remains to U.S. consumer demand and trade policy. Meanwhile, efforts to rebalance toward other markets produced only modest relief: exports to the European Union edged up just 0.9 %, and to Southeast Asia rose 11 %, gains that failed to compensate for the U.S. slump.

Compounding the external head

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