The dollar value of China’s exports fell markedly more than expected last month and import growth more than halved, while revisions to November data erased what had appeared to be a long-hoped-for return to growth for outbound shipments.

Exports shrank 6.1 per cent year on year in dollar terms to $209.42bn in December, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs. That fall was 2.1 percentage points more severe than a median of economist estimates and worse than a revised drop of 1.6 per cent (previously 0.1 per cent growth) in November.

Imports grew 3.1 per cent year-on-year in dollar terms to $168.6bn in December after growing a revised 4.7 per cent (previously 6.7 per cent) the previous month. That rate was roughly in line with a median forecast of 3 per cent growth.

Trade flows brought China’s balance of trade to $40.82bn, roughly $7.2bn below expectations and down about $3.6bn from November’s revised level of $44.23bn (previously $44.61bn). That balance came to Rmb275.4bn in local-currency terms.

What growth dollar exports did see among major trading partners came from shipments to the US, which rose 5.5 per cent year on year to $37.06bn. Exports to South Korea also showed growth of 8.3 per cent to $10.2bn.

But shipments to other destinations fared far worse, particularly those to re-exporter Hong Kong, which saw the dollar value of exports from China contract 26.3 per cent year on year to $33.84bn. Shipments to EU countries also fell 4.7 per cent to $33.5bn, while those to Japan dropped 5.5 per cent to $11.27bn.

In local currency terms exports managed slight growth of 0.6 per cent last month, besting expectations of 0.1 per cent contraction but still down substantially from growth of 5.9 per cent in November. Imports grew 10.8 per cent in renminbi terms, more than double the expected 4.8 per cent but down 2.2 percentage points from the month prior.