BEIJING | China’s exports shrank unexpectedly in November as global demand plunged, raising the threat of heavy job losses that could spur political unrest, and a sharper downturn in the world’s fourth-largest economy.
November’s exports fell by 2.2 percent from the year-earlier period, the government reported Wednesday, a sharp drop from October’s 19.1 percent expansion and far below analysts’ forecasts of up to 15 percent growth. Imports fell by 17.9 percent, pushing the trade surplus to a new monthly high of $40.1 billion.
The fall in exports suggests China’s economy has deteriorated despite a massive stimulus package meant to boost growth by encouraging Chinese consumers to spend more.
The trade decline is also a setback for foreign exporters who hoped China might help support global demand as the United States weakened.
“They need to urgently stimulate domestic demand and generate jobs and keep society stable,” said JP Morgan economist Frank F.X. Gong.
President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders wrapped up a three-day planning meeting Wednesday with a pledge to make supporting exports a priority. But they did not immediately announce any initiatives.
“The difficulties for our nation’s economy are increasing, and downward pressure on the economy is growing,” according to a statement issued after the meeting.
Exporters have been hammered by a drop in foreign demand, leading to factory closures and layoffs. Communist leaders have warned that more job losses might fuel unrest and they are pressing employers to minimize cutbacks. Export industries employ millions of migrant workers and the government says they have begun streaming back to their hometowns, where large groups of jobless workers could worsen political tension.
There have been scattered labor protests in recent months in Guangdong province in the southeast, a manufacturing hub.
On Wednesday, Beijing told China’s airlines to cancel or postpone aircraft purchases in light of weak travel demand, a move that could hurt Chicago-based Boeing Co. and Toulouse, France-based Airbus Industrie. The aviation regulator told carriers it will not approve any new aircraft for operation until at least 2010.
China’s economy is expected to grow by about 9 percent this year, but forecasters expect that to weaken in 2009. The World Bank has cut its 2009 growth forecast from 9.2 percent to 7.5 percent, its lowest since 1990.
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