CHINESE imports contracted 2.6 per cent in August exports but increased 2.7 per cent, outdoing the 2.5 per cent year-on-year expansion expected by economists, reported the Wall Street Journal.
China-wide exports also beat July's figure by one per cent, widening the national surplus to US$26.7 billion in August from US$25.1 billion in July.
But results followed poor industrial output figures and rising inflation. In sreponse, the government accelerated investment in new projects, approving 1,555 major projects, representing a 13 per cent year-on-year spending increase.
The government's response to the continued slow economic performance has so far been mild, economists said, with the People's Bank of China not yet following up on the interest-rate cuts carried out in June and July, said the report.