Chinese exports declined 3.1% year-on-year in June, while imports fell 0.7%, missing expectations of respective increases of 4% and 8%, Reuters reported. The month marked the first decline in exports since January 2012. Export growth is expected to stay low due to the weakened global economy and Beijing’s crackdown on fake invoices that artificially inflated export numbers in the past. China's trade surplus continued to widen to US$27.1 billion, in line with economist’s expectations. The weakening import and export numbers reinforce fears of a slowdown in second quarter GDP that will further endanger China’s annual growth goal of 7.5%.
