July 2020 Trade Bulletin

Highlights of This Month’s Edition

• ​Bilateral trade: U.S. goods imports from China stood at $36.6 billion in May 2020, down 6.6 percent year-on-year; U.S. and global demand for Chinese exports likely to remain weak through the summer.

• Trends in China's Economy: China’s revised negative list aims chiefly to leverage foreign capital for domestic policy goals; China’s National Audit Office reported that more than $7.1 billion (RMB 50 billion) of funds raised from special-purpose bonds last year remain unused, adding to concerns that government efforts to stimulate growth through infrastructure spending are losing steam; rising risks in China’s $3.1 trillion trust industry, a key shadow banking component, threaten financial instability and draw renewed regulatory scrutiny; China’s 6.18 shopping festival generated roughly $155.2 billion in sales this year but growth in online shopping has not been enough to offset an overall drop in retail sales. 

• In Focus – China Stock Market Reforms: Beijing accelerates pace of stock market reforms to channel funds to firms hard hit by the pandemic and prepare for prospects of reduced access to U.S. capital markets.