Beijing, April 10: China today reported a surprise quarterly trade deficit of USD 1.02 billion, the first in six years as it settles to rebalance its export oriented economy to boost domestic consumption in the next five years.
The USD 1.02 billion deficit from January to March this year was in contrast to trade surplus of USD 13.91 billion in the first quarter of last year, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) of China.
China’s exports increased by 26.5 per cent year on year to USD 399.64 billion in the first three months this year but imports soared 32.6 per cent to USD 400.66 billion, raising a question whether China’s dream run of exports surplus during the last decade is set to hit a rough patch.
From January to March, the total value of imports and exports increased 29.
-Agencies