MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

As exports contract China's imports plunge 43% in Jan

China's exports fell more than expected in January, down 17.5% from a year earlier, while imports plunged 43.1%, , as China's economy continued to be hit by the global economic slowdown.

The fall in exports, the third month running, was the biggest drop in more than 10 years, according to the latest official data. China's global trade surplus widened to 39.1 billion US dollars last month, after recording a surplus of 39 billion in December. Up to half China's $1 trillion of annual imports are materials used to produce goods that are re-exported. Rubber imports fell 77.7% and those of materials used in textiles by 57%. Last month, China's crude oil imports fell to their lowest level for 15 months - down 8% year-on-year. The country shipped in 12.82 million tonnes of crude oil, nearly 11% lower than in December. A deputy commerce minister, Jiang Zengwei, appealed this week for other governments to support free trade, adding that China would not discriminate against imports through measures akin to Washington's proposed "Buy American" initiative. Beijing has sought to boost domestic consumption and improve ties with emerging economies to avoid too heavy a reliance on US and European trade. China enjoyed five years of double-digit growth, but last year that rate slowed to 9% and analysts believe it will struggle to hit the government's 8% target in 2009. Economists predict a recovery could begin in the second half of the year. Analysts say the slowdown could prompt more factory closures and job losses. "The numbers are terrible. The environment is awful," said Ken Peng, an economist at Citigroup. "The pressure on unemployment will be huge," he added. Some analysts argue that this worsening trend will continue, as the world economy contracts. Meanwhile China's cabinet said that creating jobs has become the number one priority of the economy, clearly establishing suggestions for employers and officials to discourage job cuts. Although labour negotiations are mainly a private sector issue, the latest announcement indicates the government will adopt a more pro-active role to contain job losses and create new employment opportunities. "On implementing the macroeconomic and structural adjustment in large industries and projects, the priority consideration must be the impact on job expansion", reads the Beijing cabinet suggestion.