Newly released China trade data shows both imports and exports dropping in September and the first three quarters of 2015. Official Customs statistics show China's foreign trade volume totalled nearly 18 trillion yuan, or 2.8 trillion US dollars, in the first three quarters of this year, a drop of nearly eight percent year on year.
Exports shrank by 1.8 percent to 10.2 trillion yuan, and imports dropped by 15 percent to 7.6 trillion yuan. The trade surplus surged by 82 percent to 2.6 trillion yuan, or 410 billion US dollars.
In September, China's foreign trade volume stood at 2.2 trillion yuan, down 8.8 percent compared to last year. Exports dropped by 1.1 percent to 1.3 trillion yuan and imports decreased by 17.7 percent to over 920 billion yuan. And the trade surplus totalled more than 370 billion yuan, up by 96 percent.