Trade data add more pressure on policy

Steel pipes for export are laid at a port in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu province, Sept 8, 2015. In the first eight months of 2015, foreign trade slipped 7.7 percent year on year to 15.67 trillion yuan, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) figures showed. Exports dipped 1.6 percent to 8.95 trillion yuan in the Jan-Aug period, while imports fell 14.6 percent to 6.72 trillion yuan. In the first eight months, trade surplus jumped 80.8 percent to 2.23 trillion yuan, according to the GAC. [Photo/Xinhua]