CHINESE exports contracted 7.5 per cent in May on weaker global demand for the country's goods, as China struggled to revive growth after the Covid crisis, reports London's Financial Times.

This decline was well above analyst forecasts of an 0.4 per cent fall, according to a poll conducted by Reuters.

Imports performed better than expected, however, down 4.5 per cent year on year, compared with analysts' expectations of an eight per cent fall. This left the country's monthly trade surplus at US$65.81 billion, down 16.1 per cent, also below forecasts.

Some economists said the better than expected import figures indicated that the post-Covid recovery in China's domestic economy remained on track despite the slowing of the powerful export sector. Imports had declined 7.9 per cent year on year in April, while exports had climbed 8.5 per cent, falling back from an unexpected jump in March.