Posted: June 12th, 2009, 2:57 pm
* JUNE 12, 2009
Chinese Export Decline Deepens in May
By ANDREW BATSON and JOHN W. MILLER
BEIJING -- The decline in China's exports continued to deepen in May, new data show, emphasizing how hopes for a recovery in the world's third-largest economy remain pinned on the effectiveness of the government's stimulus program.
Exports in May fell 26.4% from a year earlier, China's customs agency said Thursday, accelerating from April's 22.6% decline. The weak performance helped to shrink China's trade surplus, which at $13.39 billion for May is more than a third smaller than in May 2008.
Along with continued steep drops in May exports from South Korea and Taiwan, the latest figures signal that world demand remains weak despite some recent signs of improvement.
China's leadership is working to counter the global downturn with a massive program of public works and industrial aid, financed by a wave of bank lending and direct government spending.
Other data issued Thursday and Friday indicated the stimulus efforts continue to propel the economy. Chinese banks issued 664.5 billion yuan ($97.2 billion) in new loans in May, an increase from the 591.8 billion yuan in April, when lending had slowed after rapid growth in the first quarter. Industrial production -- a closely watched measure of economic activity -- rose 8.9% in May from a year earlier, also accelerating from April's pace.
Fixed-asset investment, China's main measure of capital spending, rose 39% in May from a year earlier. It is growing this year at its fastest pace since the investment boom of 2004 -- but activity remains concentrated in areas benefiting from the measures.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the U.S. will jointly file suit against China at the World Trade Organization this month in a bid to stop Beijing from hoarding key minerals and to set a precedent for other big producers of raw materials, people familiar with the issue said.
China has been using tariffs on exports to keep important industrial ingredients such as zinc, tin and silicon for use at home. It also has aggressively bought large quantities of minerals from resource-rich Africa.
Western governments say the policy gives Chinese producers an unfair advantage. EU and U.S. trade negotiators have prepared a list of 20 materials, mainly chemicals and metals, they say are subject to illegal export restrictions, a European diplomat said.
One restriction that has provoked strong objections from the EU and the U.S. is an export duty on yellow phosphorous, the diplomat said.
—Matthew Dalton contributed to this article.
source: <a href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124468953324405157.html' target='_blank'>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1244689 ... 57.html</a>
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A8
本篇报导可关注以下几点：
1. 标题中的chinese export和第一段落中首句in china's exports表达相同的意思，但用了不同的形式
2. 第一句中new data show相当于插入语，可移至句首，类似i believe, i think等（第二段中china's customs agency said thursday亦是同样作用）
3. 第二段中helped to (shrink china's trade surplus)并不解释为“帮助……”，而相当于导致、产生（某种结果）的意思，to further the advancement of
4. 第九段（倒数第二段）中, they say are subject to...之前实际所跟为a list of 20 materials (that/which)，但因解释型词组mainly chemicals and metals的插入位置，该句看似违反了语法规则。