China’s exports and imports see slower growth

China’s export and import growth slowed in April raising fresh fears about a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

Exports rose by 4.9% in April from a year earlier, down from the 8.9% annual growth seen in the previous month, a sign that global demand may be slowing.

Meanwhile, imports rose just 0.3% on the year, down from 5.3% in March, indicating a fall in domestic demand.

China has been trying to boost domestic consumption to rebalance its growth.

“It is quite a revealing number. What we are seeing in China at the moment is an economy that is very much exposed to the global volatility,” Alistair Thornton of IHS Global Insight in Beijing told the BBC.

“It is clear that the situation in Europe is dragging on China’s export performance, and in turn on its overall growth.”