Soft Trade Month Dashes Hopes for China’s Recovery: Supply Lines

China just released its latest set of monthly trade data and the signs weren’t encouraging for goods entering or leaving the world’s No. 2 economy.

Imports unexpectedly shrank in November from a Covid-hit period a year earlier, while exports edged up from a low base. Economists said that combination suggests the nation’s sluggish rebound still hasn’t picked up momentum.

Here’s David Qu of Bloomberg Economics:

• The export gain “is not a sign external demand is returning in a sustainable way to support growth,” he wrote in a research note. “It was a small surprise to see the positive reading. But ...