China’s foreign minister Wang Yi criticised US President Donald Trump as “two-faced” over escalating trade tensions, as official data showed the country’s export growth decelerated and imports fell into contraction in the first two months of 2025.
Figures released by China’s customs administration on Friday showed exports expanded 2.3 per cent in dollar terms in January and February compared with the same period last year, while imports shrank 8.4 per cent.
The figures, which combined data for two months because of the lunar new year holiday, were a marked decline from 10.7 per cent growth for exports in December and a 1 per cent expansion for imports.