China reported a decline in exports and imports in April, a reversal of figures the previous month that indicated a tentative revival in both external and domestic demand.

中国报告4月份出口和进口双双下降，逆转了上月表明外部和国内需求初步复苏的数据。

Data published on Sunday by the General Administration of Customs showed that exports fell 1.8 per cent year on year in US dollar terms. That exceeded a consensus estimate by Trading Economics of a 0.1 per cent drop, and came after an 11.5 per cent surge in March.

海关总署周日发布的数据显示，出口（以美元计算）同比下降1.8%。这超过了Trading Economics估算的下降0.1%的共识预期，而且是在3月份飙升11.5%之后。

Imports in April slid 10.9 per cent from the same month last year, more than double the consensus forecast for a 5 per cent drop and deepening the previous month’s 7.6 per cent decline.

4月份进口同比下降10.9%，是下降5%这一共识预测的两倍多，而且比上一个月7.6%的跌幅有所加深。

China had a trade surplus in April of $46bn, versus $34bn a year earlier.

中国在4月份的贸易顺差达到460亿美元，高于去年同期的340亿美元。

First-quarter gross domestic product figures last month suggested the economy was broadly stabilising after a slowdown in the second half of last year, growing at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent in January to the end of March.

上月发布的第一季度国内生产总值(GDP)数据似乎表明，中国经济在去年下半年放缓后大范围企稳，首季同比增长6.7%。

However, there are concerns that the improvement in China’s outlook is primarily to do with short-term stimulus measures as Beijing attempts to shift away from heavy industry and manufacturing for export towards a service-based economy fuelled by domestic consumption.

不过，有人担心中国经济前景的改善主要与短期刺激措施有关。目前北京方面正推动经济转型，从出口导向型的重工业和制造业，转向由国内消费推动的以服务业为主的经济。

The International Monetary Fund warned last week that Asian countries were expected to suffer as a result of China’s rebalancing, and in particular that Chinese demand for imports from South Korea and Taiwan would drop.

国际货币基金组织(IMF)上周警告称，亚洲经济体预计将遭受中国再平衡的负面影响，尤其是中国对韩国和台湾产品的需求将会下降。

China’s rebalancing accounted for a “big chunk” of China’s import slowdown in the past decade, the IMF said, attributing the slowdown to the reduction in investment and in exports, two sectors that intensively use imported intermediate goods.

IMF表示，中国的再平衡占过去10年中国进口放缓的相当大一部分。该机构将中国进口放缓归因于投资和出口减少，这两个部门大量使用进口的中间产品。

“Component imports are soft, suggesting a dim outlook for manufacturing output and exports in the near term,” wrote Moody Analytics in a note. Exports of goods processed or assembled in China with foreign inputs fell 13.3 per cent year on year.

“组件进口疲弱，似乎表明短期内制造业产出和出口前景黯淡，”穆迪分析(Moody's Analytics)在一份简报中写道。用境外投入在华加工或组装的出口产品同比下滑13.3%。

As the wages of its assembly line workers slowly rise, China’s economy is suffering the relocation of garment and technology factories to neighbouring Vietnam and Bangladesh.

随着中国装配线工人的工资逐渐上升，服装和技术行业工厂纷纷迁至邻近的越南和孟加拉国，这对中国经济有一定负面影响。

Foreign-exchange reserves data, released on Saturday, showed that China’s reserves rose in dollar terms for the second month in a row, by $7.1bn to $3.2tn.

上周六公布的外汇储备数据表明，中国的外汇储备（以美元计算）连续第二个月增加，4月增加71亿美元，至3.2万亿美元。

However, the increase was driven by a softening US dollar, which pushed up the value of China’s euro- and yen-denominated assets and thus the value of the overall pot in dollar terms.

不过，这一增加受到美元走软的推动，因为美元走软推高了中国所持的欧洲和日元计价资产的价值，从而推高了储备整体以美元计算的价值。

Excluding the valuation effect, money is still flowing out of China, though at a more moderate pace, with a net forex outflow of $13.3bn in April, less than March’s $37bn, according to estimates from researchers at China International Capital Corporation.

若剔除估值效应，资金仍在流出中国，尽管流出的步伐更小。据中金公司(CICC)的研究人员估算，4月外汇净流出达到133亿美元，低于3月的370亿美元。

The narrowing of foreign reserve outflows suggests the central bank is confident enough in the strength of the Chinese currency to ease off its intervention to support the renminbi. The renminbi has risen 14.8 per cent against the dollar since hitting a trough for the year on January 8.

外汇储备外流缩小表明，中国央行对人民币汇率保持稳定有足够信心，因而减小了汇市干预力度。人民币兑美元汇率自1月8日跌至年内低谷以来，已反弹14.8%。