SIMIC

Exports rose 7.1 per cent last month compared with the same period a year earlier, well below consensus expectations of a 13 per cent increase and down from 18 per cent growth in July, official customs data showed, representing the first slowdown since April.

The country's trade balance narrowed to a US$79.4 billion surplus, compared with market expectations of $92.7 billion, after reaching a record high of $101.3 billion in July.

Trade had been a rare bright spot for the Chinese economy, which has been hammered by a liquidity crisis in the property sector and widespread lockdowns as part of Presidet Xi Jinping's zero-Covid strategy.

Analysts said this month's slowdown represented the beginning of the end of the export boom that had provided a lifeline to the world's second-largest economy after the early stages of the Covid crisis in 2020.