The contrasting trade data that the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong put out are due to different calculation methods and exchange rate differences, said an official at the Ministry of Commerce yesterday, refuting rumors of false data.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed the mainland's exports to Hong Kong were $46 billion in December, while Hong Kong reported just $23.7 billion of imports from the mainland.
"There has been a sharp gap between the two in the past decade," Shen Danyang, a ministry spokesman, said.
"It is due to some factors, including different calculation method and exchange rate differences," he said, adding that the difference was "not purposeful distortion,"
The mainland classifies products such as mobile phones and digital pads sent via Hong Kong as exports but Hong Kong does not. Hong Kong does not categorize products assembled in the mainland but made by Japan or South Korea as exports from the mainland.