China Breaks Export Records as US Returns to COVID-19 Lockdowns, But Experts Warn Gains Won’t Last

Having successfully controlled and eliminated the COVID-19 outbreaks in the country earlier this year, China’s economy has come roaring back as the year closes out. However, some experts warn the gains may only be temporary, as Western economies aren’t going to remain hamstrung by sanitary restrictions forever.

China’s General Administration of Customs reported Monday the country’s exports had risen by 21% in November as compared to the previous year. That is not only higher than October’s 11.4% increase, but also higher than the 12% increase economists had forecast for November, the Wall Street Journal noted. 

China’s exports to Australia, another country with which it has sparred over trade concerns in recent weeks, also rose dramatically last month, increasing by 22.6%.

But China didn’t just sell more last month; it bought more, too. Imports grew by 5% in November as compared to November 2019, but imports of Australian goods went up by 9.4%, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) noted. Imports from the US increased by 33% as compared to a year ago.

“COVID has temporarily increased the difficulty of decoupling from China – it was already incredibly difficult,” Rory Green, China economist at TS Lombard, told SCMP, noting China makes many of the masks and gloves needed for safety as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in the US and several other countries. However, many of the electronic devices now being bought as Christmas gifts in the West are also made in China, helping to drive exports up.

He predicted that in 2021, as COVID-19 vaccines begin their mass roll-outs, economic activity will return to normal, and China’s gains will slacken.

For the moment, however, skyrocketing cases in the US have brought the most stringent lockdowns since the spring, when the onset of the pandemic brought near-total economic paralysis as hundreds of millions of Americans began weekslong furloughs in a bid to stem the virus’ spread.

Sourse: sputniknews.com