Compiled by Caijing 

(Caijing.com.cn) The collapse in China’s exports reduced gross domestic product growth by a net 0.2 percentage points in the first quarter, with consumption accounting for 4.3 percentage points of growth and investment making up 2 percentage points, National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Li Xiaochao said.

Li made the remarks at a media briefing on April 16 after the release of the country’s first-quarter economic data. China’s GDP rose 6.1 percent year-on-year, the lowest since records began in 1992.

Exports fell 17.1 percent in March, although the rate of decline narrowed from 25.7 percent in February.

China has long been seeking to rebalance its export-dependent economy and boost the role of private consumption, but not quite in this manner. Exports have declined five straight months beginning in November as overseas demand for China’s goods dried up.

Imports in March declined at an even steeper rate than exports - 25.1 percent – suggesting that China is shipping in fewer raw materials to be processed into exports later.

The IMF estimates that during China’s high-growth years this decade, personal consumption accounted for about 40 percent of GDP, one of the lowest levels in the world. That’s against 80 percent for the United States and 61 percent for Japan.