China’s July exports grow storngly in July but imports weaken as economic expansion cools

China’s July exports up but import growth weakens

BEIJING — China’s exports grew strongly in July amid concern about weakening global demand but import growth slackened as the rapid Chinese economic expansion and demand for raw materials cooled.

Exports were up 38.1 percent over a year earlier at $145.5 billion while imports rose 22.7 percent to $116.8 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Export growth was comparable to June but the rise in imports fell sharply from June’s stunning 53 percent.

China’s export growth has remained strong despite uncertainty about the health of the global recovery, though analysts expect demand to drop as Europe’s debt crisis hurts spending by the continent’s consumers.

China’s appetite for imports has been dented as growth slowed from 11.9 percent in the first quarter to 10.3 percent in the latest quarter. Beijing has imposed curbs on credit and real estate development to cool a possible asset price bubble, sharply cutting demand for steel and other building materials.

National Bureau of Statistics (in Chinese): www.stats.gov.cn