China’s exports and imports suffered larger-than-expected drops in the first month of this year in both renminbi- and dollar-denominated terms.

今年第一个月，不论以人民币还是以美元计，中国出口和进口都出现了大于预期的跌幅。

Exports fell 6.6 per cent year-on-year in January to Rmb1.14tn, following a 2.3 per cent gain in December. Economists expected a gain of 3.6 per cent. It was the biggest fall in exports since an 8.9 per cent drop in July last year.

1月份出口同比下滑6.6%至1.14万亿元人民币，而此前在去年12月份则曾增长2.3%。经济学家原本预计会增长3.6%。这是自去年7月下滑8.9%以来，出口出现的最大跌幅。

The drop was even more pronounced measured in US dollars, with exports crashing 11.2 per cent year-on-year last month to $177.48bn. That was from a 1.4 per cent drop in December, and versus expectations for a 1.8 per cent slide. It was the biggest drop since a 15 per cent fall in March last year.

以美元计算的话，这一跌幅就更加明显了，上个月出口同比下滑11.2%至1774.8亿美元。这一跌幅不仅超过了去年12月1.4%的跌幅，也超过了下滑1.8%的预期。这是自去年3月下滑15%以来的最大跌幅。

The import side of the equation fared worse in both renminbi- and dollar-terms.

而在进口一侧，不论以人民币还是美元计，情况都愈发糟糕。

Shipments to China cratered by 14.4 per cent year-on-year to Rmb737.5bn in January. That’s from a 4 per cent drop in December, and versus expectations for a 1.8 per cent rise.

1月份，中国的进口同比减少了14.4%，降至7375亿元人民币。大于去年12月4%的降幅，也和上升1.8%的预期不符。

In dollar terms, imports plunged 18.8 per cent last month to $114.19, from a 7.6 per cent drop in January and versus an expected drop of 3.6 per cent.

以美元计，上个月进口下跌了18.8%，跌至1141.9亿美元，跌幅超过了去年12月的7.6%，也超过了下跌3.6%的预期。

This was the biggest monthly drop in imports since last September and also means shipments have contracted year-on-year for the past 15 months straight.

这是自去年9月以来进口最大单月跌幅，也意味着中国进口已在过去15个月里连续同比收缩。

The general weakness in the renminbi, which fell 1.3 per cent in January and had weakened by 2.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, is likely playing a part, by making overseas goods more expensive. However, exports have yet to receive a boost from the currency’s depreciation.

这种现象部分原因可能来自人民币汇率总体的疲软，原因是这会令境外的商品变得更加昂贵。今年1月人民币汇率下跌了1.3%，而在2015年最后一个季度人民币贬值了2.2%。不过，中国的出口仍未因人民币贬值而受到提振。

China’s trade surplus grew to Rmb496.2bn last month from Rmb382.1bn in December. Economists expected it to inch higher to Rmb389bn. In dollar terms, China’s trade surplus rose to $63.29bn from $60.09 in December and versus expectations of $60.6bn.

上个月，中国贸易顺差增至4962亿元人民币，高于去年12月的3821亿元人民币。经济学家曾预计该数据将略高于3890亿元人民币。以美元计，该月中国贸易顺差从去年12月的600.9亿美元增至632.9亿美元，也超过了606亿美元的预期。