BEIJING – China's exports and imports both fell in May as the coronavirus and trade tensions with the U.S. weighed on demand both at home and abroad.Exports fell 3.3% compared to a year earlier to $206.8 billion and imports dropped 16.7%to $143.9 billion, the Chinese customs agency said Sunday.The plunge in imports drove the country's trade surplus up to $62.9 billion.
The surplus with the United States reached $27.9 billion.The fall in exports came after a surprise 3.5% rise the previous month.
Exports to the U.S. totaled $37. 2 billion, while imports from the U.S. were $9.3 billion. Analysts were expecting the decline in exports, attributing April's rise to orders placed before virus restrictions hit overseas economies and predicting that.