Foreign demand for Chinese goods cooled off in May, a sign that the coronavirus-driven global slowdown is weighing on the world’s second-largest economy even as it reports stronger business activity at home.
At the same time, a plunge in global commodity prices has prompted Beijing to buy up strategic resources such as crude oil as tensions rise with the US, the new figures denominated in renminbi from the country’s customs authority suggest.
The slowdown is fuelled by lukewarm demand from China’s trading partners. South-east Asia, the top buyer of Chinese goods, reported a 1 per cent dip in imports from China last month following an 8 per cent increase in April, as a resurgence in the pandemic took a toll on local demand.
您已阅读29%（730字），剩余71%（1800字）包含更多重要信息，订阅以继续探索完整内容，并享受更多专属服务。