China’s Competitiveness Slides, Biting Into Exports
ByTrucks carrying shipping containers drive through the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
China’s exports unexpectedly declined in April and imports slumped, adding downward pressure on an economy grappling with overcapacity and waning competitiveness.
Overseas shipments fell 6.2 percent from a year earlier in yuan value, the customs administration said in Beijing on Friday. That compared with the median estimate for a 0.9 percent rise in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Imports slid 16.1 percent — the fourth straight double-digit decline — leaving a trade surplus of 210.21 billion yuan ($33.9 billion)…