China’s extraordinary export boom comes to an end

LAST MONTH a yellow-striped freight train rumbled into Budapest carrying solar-power equipment, air-conditioning kit and other bits and pieces. It had travelled for 16 days, all the way from Shandong, a province in eastern China. As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, freight trains now serve more than 50 cities in Europe and Asia from Shandong. They are called “Qilu” trains, a nod to the ancient Qi and Lu kingdoms that flowered in that part of China in the Confucian era.

China’s exports, whether by rail, road, sea or air, have made rapid progress in the past two years. They rose by almost 30% in dollar terms in 2021. Over 5,000 Qilu trains have left the station since 2018. But in April, China’s export growth slowed to a desultory chug. In dollar terms, exports were only 3.9% higher than a year earlier.