China's Import Soared and Export Growth Slowed In March

Li Chen
14 Apr, 2026
Hong Kong

Stocks in China and Hong Kong rebounded amid hopes that US-Iran talks are likely to resume.

The Hang Seng Index increased 0.3%, and the CSI 300 Index gained 0.6%, and Brent crude oil prices decreased 1% to $98.37 a barrel.

Market sentiment in China and Asia recovered amid rising expectations that the U.S. and Iran are likely to resume their second round of talks as early as this weekend. 

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, signaled willingness for additional peace talks if they complied with international law.

Investors in Japan and South Korea bid up indexes between 2% and 3.5% as the U.S. prepared to block ocean traffic through the Strait of Hormuz linked with ports in Iran.

 

China's Export Growth Slowed in March

China's export growth slowed sharply in March compared to the January-February period, according to the latest data available from China's General Administration of Customs.

Exports increased 2.5% from a year ago to $321.0 billion, and imports soared 27.8% to $269.9 billion, resulting in a 50% decline to $51.1 billion from $101.9 billion a year ago.

The sharp rise in prices of industrial metals and energy products drove the overall import costs higher.

Fertilizer imports jumped 59%, driven by a 27% rise in volume, while integrated circuit imports advanced 54% in value compared to a 14% rise in volume.

Shipments increased to Japan by 3.3%, to South Korea by 19.6%, to Taiwan by 35.2%, to Australia by 11.9%, to the ASEAN region by 6.9%, and to the European Union by 8.6%, but declined to the U.S. by 26.5%. 

 

China Indexes and Stocks 

The Hang Seng Index increased 0.3% to 25,737.16, and the CSI 300 Index advanced 0.6% to 4,673.66.