Beijing, Oct 13 (AFP) China's imports from North Koreafell for the seventh month in a row, official data showedtoday, after Beijing vowed to apply UN sanctions to pressurePyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests.
Speaking at a press conference, Customs administrationspokesman Huang Songping said China's imports from North Koreahad dropped by almost 38 percent in September year-on-year,while exports were down 6.7 percent.
China, North Korea's main trade partner, has gone alongwith a package of sanctions, including bans on imports ofcoal, iron and seafood from North Korea as well as limits onexports of refined petroleum products to the reclusive nation.
With the wider world, China's trade is booming -- exportsand imports surged in September, official data showed.
Customs figures showed exports grew 8.1 percent andimports expanded 18.7 percent in September, compared with thesame period last year. The surge in imports shows demand inChina is strong.
It was a better performance than August, when exportsrose 5.5 per cent and imports were up 13.3 per cent.
China's September trade surplus reached $28.5 billion,compared to customs revised figure for August of $41 billion.
However, while China's imports reading beat forecasts ina Bloomberg News survey, exports fell slightly short.
"Today's figures suggest that not only has strong foreigndemand continued to prop up manufacturing activity in Chinabut domestic demand remains resilient too," Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist at Capital Economics wrote in anote.
But Evans-Pritchard said the figures were skewed becausethere were more working days last month compared with lastyear's period, as the nearly week-long Mid-Autumn Festivalholiday was held in September 2016.
China's falling imports from the North may provide somesalve to the Trump administration, as China's trade surpluswith the US ballooned further last month.
The surplus with the United States reached $28.1 billionin September, up from $24.9 billion in September of last year.
The trade data was the latest positive economic news forChina after the International Monetary Fund released a reportthis week raising the country's growth forecasts for 2017 and2018 to 6.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively.
It is good news for President Xi who is expected tosecure a second five-year term as general secretary of theCommunist Party during its twice-a-decade congress, whichopens on Wednesday.(AFP)AMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.