Sunday, March 26, 2023
HomeContainersChina Warns Waning Global Demand Is Top Threat to Trade

Subscribe

To our FREE newsletter
Get all the latest maritime news delivered straight to your inbox.

China Warns Waning Global Demand Is Top Threat to Trade

Overseas demand for goods from China is weakening as the global economy slows, warned a senior Chinese commerce ministry official, though the country still expects foreign trade to grow in the second half of this year.

“The slowdown in external demand is the biggest uncertainty faced by China’s trade,” said Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen during a press conference Tuesday in Beijing. “Our companies are reporting falling orders, as the demand from major markets is declining.”

An export boom that has propelled China’s economy during the pandemic is showing signs of waning as soaring inflation and other headwinds elsewhere suppress global demand. Exports in US dollar terms expanded 7.1% last month, the weakest pace of growth since April when a lockdown in Shanghai disrupted ports and snarled trade.

Meanwhile, the cost of shipping goods from China has slumped to the lowest level in more than two years as the world economy stumbles.

Much of the growth in the value of trade now is due to rising prices, not to an increase in the amount of goods actually being put on ships. Shanghai’s port processed 8.4% less cargo in August than a year earlier, the port said earlier this month.

While Wang said China is confident it will achieve growth in foreign trade in the last six months of 2022, he cautioned that the economic slowdown in the US and Europe is a major headwind.

Elevated inflation among major economies has squeezed the consumption of goods in those places, while many overseas companies have been left with high inventories they still need to offload — thus hurting new orders, Wang said. He added that the demand for work-from-home equipment spurred by the pandemic is declining.

The Chinese government has rolled out several measures to stabilize trade, Wang said, such as last month’s big stimulus package and support for cross-border e-commerce firms to build overseas warehouses, among other measures. He noted that rapid growth in some sectors, such as cars and solar batteries, has also demonstrated the country’s good foundation in trade.

[bloomberg]

Related Posts

Video

Finance & Economy
Shipping News
Ports

Eva Birgitte Bisgaard steps down as chief commercial officer at Maersk Tankers

Eva Birgitte Bisgaard is stepping down from her role as chief commercial officer at Maersk Tankers. Christian M. Ingerslev, chief executive officer of Maersk Tankers,...

Frontline’s Fredriksen appointed to Euronav supervisory board

Belgium’s Euronav said its shareholders had overwhelmingly voted to elect John Fredriksen of peer Frontline, a major investor that pulled out of a merger...

UBS Likely to Shrink Credit Suisse’s $10 Billion Shipping Portfolio – Report

UBS Group AG will likely shrink Credit Suisse Group’s $10 billion shipping portfolio that it inherited as part of its emergency takeover on Sunday,...

Braemar: Record revenue & profitability

Braemar Plc., a provider of expert investment, chartering, and risk management advice to the shipping and energy markets, announced an update on trading...

Oldendorff Carriers announces change of leadership

Effective today, the board of OLDENDORFF CARRIERS has appointed Patrick Hutchins as the new President and CEO of the company. Patrick succeeds Peter Twiss, who...

Global Goods Trade Softening from 2022’s Record Level

International commerce soared to a record of $32 trillion in 2022, but goods trade...

New Hybrid Ferry ‘P&O Pioneer’ Docks At DP World Limassol For Bunkering

P&O Ferries’ newly commissioned Fusion Class vessel ‘P&O Pioneer’ has docked at DP World...

Baltic index gains as capesize rates rebound

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk...

Minerva puts cost of fuel theft as high as $5.2 bil/year

The bunkering industry is losing as much $5.2 billion of fuel annually to quantity...

Baltic index logs worst day in five weeks on tepid demand for larger vessels

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk...

Drewry: Port Throughput Index Down 4.5% Year-on-Year

The Drewry Container Port Throughput Indices are a series of calendar adjusted volume growth/decline indices based on monthly throughput data for a sample of...

Port of Los Angeles moves 487,846 container units in February

The Port of Los Angeles processed 487,846 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in February, a 43% decrease from the previous February’s all-time record. “February declines were...

Piraeus Port Authority: Strong growth in 2022

PPA S.A. announced Full Year 2022 financial results, marking a consecutive year of growth with a turnover of €194.6 million compared to €154.2 million...

WLP welcomes 14 strategic Vietnamese partners to its growing network of international traders

World Logistics Passport (WLP), a Dubai-led global initiative designed to smooth the flow of world trade, has welcomed 14 Vietnamese partners to its global...

Port of Hedland February Iron Ore Exports 2% Down

Pilbara Ports Authority has delivered a total monthly throughput of 54.8 million tonnes (Mt) for February 2023. This throughput was a five per cent increase...