CRI听力:October exports drop narrows, pressure remains

Official data shows China's exports in yuan-denominated terms fell by 3.2 percent year on year in October, while imports gained 3.2 percent.

According to figures from the General Administration of Customs (GAC), foreign trade volume reached 2 trillion yuan in October, with the trade surplus narrowing to 325 billion yuan.

Machinery and electronic products as well as goods in labor-intensive sectors like textiles and toys posted growth declines in the first ten months and private firms still led the country's exports.

Imports of large commodity goods including iron ore and crude oil continued to grow in the January-October period.

Trade volume for the first ten months dropped 1.9 percent from a year earlier to nearly 20 trillion yuan while trade surplus shrank 2.6 percent to 2.9 trillion yuan.

Foreign trade with China's largest trade partner, the European Union, and the third largest one, ASEAN, gained year on year by 2.3 percent and 0.1 percent respectively in the first ten months, while it dropped by 3.2 percent with the United States, its second largest trade partner.

For more on this, CRI's Bob Jones spoke earlier with John Ross, senior fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University.