CHINA'S exports in February soared for the third straight month and at the fastest pace in three years, underlining the nation's position as the world's leading exporter and adding to pressure on policymakers to pare back stimulus measures adopted during the global recession.
Overseas shipments last month grew 45.7 per cent from a year earlier to $US94.5 billion ($103bn), the customs bureau said, cementing a turnaround that began in December when a year-long decline in exports ended.
China's export data is being closely watched for clues to the state of the world's third-largest economy and for signs of recovery in crisis-hit markets such as the US and Europe.
China's exports in February rose 45.7 per cent from a year earlier, a pick-up from January's 21 per cent increase. But the jump was mainly due to a low comparison base, as exports in February last year fell at their fastest rate during the global financial crisis.
Seasonally adjusted exports last month fell 2.2 per cent from January, suggesting lingering weakness in external demand -- a recurring theme in recent remarks by officials.
The choppiness of the export rebound could also bolster the case for Beijing to stick with its currency policy, which has helped exporters. Imports grew 44.7 per cent in February from a year earlier, slowing from January's 85.5 per cent pace, which in turn was partially due to the steep import drop in January last year.
Seasonally adjusted imports in February rose 6.3 per cent from the previous month, reversing January's 0.9 per cent drop, indicating domestic demand remains strong, despite government efforts to slow lending.
Copper imports, for instance, rose in February from January, reversing a sequential drop in January, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
In laying out this year's economic-policy blueprint, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday the government needed to "consolidate the momentum of the economic turnaround", given that many destabilising factors in the world economy persist and private growth drivers in China remain weak.
Despite external pressure, Mr Wen also said the government would maintain the yuan exchange rate's "basic stability".
China has kept the local currency largely unchanged against the US dollar since July 2008, to help exporters cope with the financial crisis. Alastair Chan, an associate economist with Moody's Economy.com, said Chinese import growth would "outpace export growth this year because the domestic economy is doing better than those of China's trading partners".
"If imports increase quite a lot and the trade surplus shrinks, international pressure will fade," he said, referring to pressure on Beijing to budge on the currency.
China's trade surplus narrowed to $US7.61bn in February, from $US14.17bn in January.
Economists say the February data are difficult to interpret because the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, when factories close, was in February this year, as opposed to January of last year, creating distortions in year-earlier comparisons. They generally predict exports will continue to pick up this year because the global economy is recovering.
UBS Securities economist Wang Tao said exports were likely to rise about 30 per cent in March and April from the same period last year. February's year-on-year export growth "points to solid underlying improvement in external demand", said economist Brian Jackson.
