Growth in China's exports and imports last month vastly exceeded expectations, providing fresh evidence of the vigour of the economy and strengthening the case for Beijing to let the yuan start climbing again.
Exports leapt 17.7% from a year earlier, dwarfing the 4% rise forecast by economists and breaking a 13-month streak of year-on-year declines; imports surged 55.9%, much more than the 31% increase markets had expected.
Based on the trade data, analysts estimated that industrial output in December grew by more than 25% from a year earlier and that GDP growth in the fourth quarter exceeded 11%.
Despite the leap in exports, the even bigger jump in imports meant China's trade surplus slipped to $18.4 billion in December from $19.1 billion in November and $39 billion in December 2008. Economists had expected it to tick up to $19.6 billion.
China was not the only Asian exporter to enjoy a dazzling December. South Korea and Taiwan reported export growth of 46.9% and 33.7%, respectively.
But China is far bigger, overtaking Germany as the world's biggest exporter of goods in 2009. Its booming investment and consumption are helping to rebalance the world economy even though Beijing has refused to let the yuan rise against the dollar since the global financial crisis began in mid-2008, analysts said.
Its imports of crude oil also hit a monthly record, while iron ore shipments were the second highest ever and copper imports beat expectations.
