China sees drastic trade value falloff

China sees drastic trade value falloff    China’s bilateral trade with its three biggest trading partners — the United States, the European Union and Japan — fell in the first quarter of 2009, according to a report by the Xinhua news agency.
   Citing a report this week from the General Administration of Customs, the report said China-U.S. trade dropped 15.7 percent to $62.1 billion in the first quarter. Export volume to the U.S. declined 14.9 percent to $25.5 billion. China’s trade surplus with the United States dropped 13 percent to nearly $29 billion.
   In March, export volumes to the United States contracted for the fifth month in a row to $16.5 billion, but it was the first month-on-month growth since the fourth quarter of 2008, the report said.
   China-EU trade fell 19.8 percent to $75.2 billion, down 19.8 percent year on year. Export fell 20.2 percent to $17.2 billion.
   The biggest slide in the first quarter was seen in Japanese trade with China, with two-way trade down 23.8 percent to $46.1 billion.