Chinese trade surplus jumps to $31.7bn

[alp227]

Source: Financial Times

Chinese export and import growth both slowed in June, showing that the world’s second-largest economy faces strong headwinds.

Exports rose 11.3 per cent from a year earlier, down from May’s 15.3 per cent pace. Imports increased 6.3 per cent from a year earlier, half of May’s 12.7 per cent and well below expectations.

With imports so weak, China was able to pull in a trade surplus of $31.7bn, nearly double May’s total and the country’s biggest in more than three years. The trade numbers followed inflation data that underscored the downturn in the Chinese economy.

Lu Ting, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, noted that exports were at least holding up far better than they did in late 2008, when global financial turmoil led to a sharp plunge in trade.

Read more: http://liveweb.archive.org/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8ca9bf6-ca40-11e1-a5e2-00144feabdc0.html

[DeSwiss]

1. K&R

China’s Economy Has Completely Flatlined- Gordon Chang
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/china-economy-completely-flatlined-gordon-chang-180121322.html

[davidpdx]

2. They are going to have some major problems very soon

I happened to see the question of the week on Fareed Zakaria's show was about interest rates in China. They are 6% right now. The government has been trying to slow growth, but it may have stalled instead.

Last month I came back from China (was there for 9 months) and the amount of housing they are building is overwhelming. The problem is that no one can afford it. I was walking along a street near the university I work at and a coworker was pointing out some new townhouses. Apparently most of them are empty. We went up and ask the guard how much they cost. His response was "too much".

Another quick story...there was a village nearby our university that had all kinds of shops, stores and a pharmacy. They (the government) came in and ripped the whole thing up. The people are selling stuff in tents along the side of the road, but the village, it's still there. At least the rubble is.

[treestar]

4. Wouldn't the supply and demand make the houses worth a lot less?

Of course less than it cost to build them, but still. The whole thing is an entire loss if they build it with no one to sell it to.

[DeSwiss]

5. As the report in my link above states:

...the Chinese government has previously ordered construction to take place irrespective of the market demand. And when you're a country who is also a bank, you don't argue with the boss when s/he says make loans!

Likewise, other reports have shown that electric use and the concentration of oil supplies and the drop in the use of other fuels (coal) can only mean that they're not being used.

So those who depend upon the veracity of China's economic statistics for guidance on where the economy stands, will be lead astray. Besides, no manager within their CommuCapitalistic system wants to risk having to be ''re-educated'' for turning in the wrong kind of numbers anyways.

- But you'll have to admit, for Ghost Cities, they look real nice and clean and everything.......

[davidpdx]

9. What a waste of money

The other problem is China's population is going to start declining soon. The One Child policy will be their undoing. I'm hoping they have a bigger housing bubble than the US had.

[OverseaVisitor]

3. China is just too stable

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2010/08/government_and_private_debt_after_crisis

click on country to understand debt spread

[DeSwiss]

6. Yeah.....

...everybody's stable when you use ''their'' numbers. Even Greece!

- Awwww, ain't they cccuuuute. China wants to be like us......

[OverseaVisitor]

7. Yeah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_current_account_balance

They got the most cash in wallet.

[DeSwiss]

8. Yeah.....

...but it's only paper.

[davidpdx]

10. I just came back with a huge back of those

I knew they looked familiar