China exports dive in September on weak global demand

China`s exports plummeted 10.0 percent year-on-year to $184.5 billion in September, government data showed Thursday, as anemic global demand weighed on the world`s second-largest economy.

Imports fell 1.9 percent on-year to $142.5 billion, Customs said, and the trade surplus declined to $42.0 billion.

"There remain obvious obstacles facing China`s foreign trade development," Customs spokesman Huang Songping told reporters in Beijing.

Both exports and imports missed expectations, with a Bloomberg News survey of economists forecasting a drop of 3.3 percent for exports and a 0.6 percent rise in imports.

China is crucial to the global economy and its performance affects partners from Australia to Zambia, which have been battered by its slowing growth.

"World growth remains sluggish and global trade lacks effective support," Huang said, but added that exporters` confidence was strengthening as China`s domestic economy "stabilised and improved".