A container is moved at Yiwu International Distribution Center in Zhejiang province. Exports jumped 35.8 percent and imports climbed 27.3 percent year-on-year in March, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday. [Photo / China Daily]

The growth in exports and imports may provide another tool to curb price rise

BEIJING - China's faster-than-expected growth in exports and imports last month may allow the government to strengthen its fight against inflation, which probably exceeded its target for the ninth straight month in March.

Overseas shipments jumped 35.8 percent and imports climbed 27.3 percent year-on-year, unexpectedly pulling the trade balance into surplus after a $7.3 billion shortfall in February, the customs bureau said on Sunday.

"March export figures came in stronger than expected, shrugging off the impact of Japan's disaster and the surge in oil prices," said Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong. "This reconfirms that inflation rather than growth remains the key risk for China. Get ready for more reserve ratio and rate hikes in the coming months."