The gloomy trade report is likely to reinforce fears that China's economic growth halved in the first quarter to the weakest since 1990 as the epidemic and strict government containment measures crippled factory production and led to a sharp slump in demand.
China ran a trade deficit of $7.09 billion for the period, reversing an expected $24.6 billion surplus in the poll. Though the number of new virus cases in China is falling, and local governments are slowly relaxing emergency measures, analysts say many businesses are taking longer to reopen than expected, and may not return to normal production till April.
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