Chinese Trade Surplus Drops Sharply As Trade Volumes Recover

Many critics of the Chinese currency policy have argued that it amounts to mercantilism, and that while the Chinese surplus may have fallen because of the crisis, it will rise again once global trade recovers.

Particularly the latter claim is difficult to square with the December Chinese trade numbers, which showed that the surplus dropped by more than 50%, following a 17.7% increase in exports and 55.9% increase in imports.