Chinese Exports Are Tumbling

Data on Thursday showed that exports and imports in China are sinking thanks to falling demand caused by the economic troubles in Europe and the U.S. According to the

, China's manufacturing sector will be less than delighted to hear this, as it employs hundreds of millions of people and is a key driver of the world's no. 2 economy. This bad slice of news comes just one after International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned that Asia would not be immune if the world fell into a downward spiral of financial instability. The Gazette piece says that “China's exports rose 15.9 per cent year on year to $157.49 billion in October, down from $169.7 billion in September, the customs agency said in a statement. Shipments to the European Union – China's biggest trade partner – fell to $28.74 billion in October from $31.61 billion in September. Exports to the United States shrank to $28.6 billion in October from $30.11 billion in the previous month. Imports expanded 28.7 per cent to $140.46 billion in October, lower than the $155.2 billion recorded a month earlier." “It's not good for anybody. We have got to address it — both sides have to address it,” said Fred Hochberg, chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. That might be the understatement of the decade.