Economic fallout from trade friction 'not obvious': NBS

(ECNS) - The fallout from China’s economy from Sino-U.S. trade friction was not discernible in the past 11 months, said Mao Shengyong, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics. 

At a press conference on Friday, Mao said China’s economy remained stable from January to November despite the trade friction with main indicators on growth, employment and consumer price index generally good, and even better than expected. 

Imports and exports are thought to have had the most difficulties due to ongoing trade tension, but the impact has not been big to date, he said. 

It was added that rising trade protectionism has lowered world trade growth and consequently impacted China and other countries.

Studies show that among many factors affecting a country’s exports, the most important are overall economic growth, said Mao.

He noted China is becoming increasingly diverse in its foreign trade with important partners now including the EU, U.S., Japan, Southeast Asia, BRICS nations and countries along the Belt and Road route. 

As a result, China’s exports depend on world economic growth as well as its own capacity to adjust to the new economic environment, it was said.