Exports decrease by 6.8%, Tourism industry recovering, Temu to enter Australia and New Zealand

China’s exports in January-February decreased by 6.8% year-on-year to $506.3 billion, and imports decreased by 10.2% to $389.420 billion, according to China Customs. This left a trade surplus of $116.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%. Trade with the European Union and the U.S. experienced large declines, with exports to the U.S. declining by 21.8% year-on-year.

The Chinese tourism industry is recovering: Trip.com Group (whose brands include Ctrip and Qunar) announced 2022 annual revenue of 20 billion yuan (2.88 billion), which is flat year-on-year, and about 56% of the level of 2019. Net profit was 1.4 billion yuan ($202.16 million). In the fourth quarter of 2022, outbound air ticket bookings on Ctrip increased by over 200% year-on-year, and outbound hotel bookings increased by 140%.

Temu will enter the Australian and New Zealand markets on March 13. The low cost ecommerce app by tech giant Pinduoduo started operating in the U.S. in September 2022 and in Canada in February 2023. Temu proceeded to launch a price war in the U.S. with biggest rival Shein, and it has plans to enter Spain (as a springboard for the European market) and various African countries. However, there are still several risks associated with Temu’s business model.