With the coronavirus spreading all over the world, Cjina's exports fell 17.2 per cent — the biggest drop since February 2019 — and imports dropped 4pc, according to official data.
A Bloomberg poll of economists had expected exports to drop less, by 16.2pc, but had forseen a much starker drop on imports of 16.1pc.
Consumers stayed home during the Lunar New Year break at the end of January and businesses saw a much slower return to work, as the country struggled to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has killed more than 3,000 people in China alone.
