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BEIJING—China’s trade shrank in October as global demand weakened and anti-virus controls weighed on domestic consumer spending.
Exports declined 0.3 percent from a year earlier to $298.4 billion, down from September’s 5.7 percent growth, the customs agency reported Monday. Imports fell 0.7 percent to $213.4 billion, compared with the previous month’s 0.3 percent expansion.
China’s global trade surplus edged up 0.9 percent from a year earlier to $85.2 billion.
Forecasters expected Chinese trade to weaken as global demand cooled following interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to rein in surging inflation.
At home, consumer demand has been hurt by a "Zero COVID" strategy that has repeatedly shut down large sections of cities to contain virus outbreaks. That has disrupted business and confined millions of people to their homes for weeks at a time....