China Exports & Trade Surplus Down

China took a harder than expected hit from the global downturn, as lower figures took markets in the region by surprise, and analysts said the gloomy data would deepen concern about how China weathers this financial crisis, despite the country’s massive stimulus package aimed at bolstering their economy, Industry Week reports.

The country’s exports are down 25.7% in February year-on-year, while the trade surplus stood at $4.84 billion, a dramatic reduction from more than $39 billion the previous month. The customs bureau said imports also dropped 24.1% in February. The trade surplus was down by nearly half, compared with last February’s $8.56 billion. In the first two months of 2009, Chinese exports declined 21.1% from the same period in 2008.

Chinese authorities put a $580 billion stimulus package in action late last year, but now analysts say the latest figures suggest that was not enough and the quick boon it gave to the country’s economy may be short lived.

The country’s national statistics bureau said fixed asset investment in urban areas, a rough gauge of manufacturing health, soared 26.5% in the first two months of 2009. That increase suggested that the benefits of the stimulus package were starting to make themselves felt. Fixed asset investment is among the most closely watched of numbers in China as it gives an idea of the state of fiscal spending, which has attained extra importance during the economic slowdown.