- Recent trade data from China pointed to further concerns about a slowdown in the second-largest economy.
- Policymakers have vowed to roll out stimulus programs in coming months.
- While economists see a recovery eventually, they say imports and exports have further to fall in the near-term.
A dimming economic outlook in China has rattled global markets in recent weeks. In trade, things could get worse before they get better.
China’s exports fell by the most in two years in December, the General Administration of Customs data said Monday, shedding 4.4% from a year earlier. Imports, meanwhile, fell 7.6% in their largest drop since 2016.
Officials have rushed to try to shore up confidence, vowing various stimulus programs from easier lending rules to tax cuts. And while the economy is expected to recover eventually, experts say there is still plenty of room for activity to fall.
“China’s trade data will get nastier,” said Freya Beamish, chief Asia economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “The most prescient indicators, however, suggest that the recovery should be V-shaped.”
