China's exports for the month of September plunged at a faster rate, while its imports shrunk for a fifth consecutive month - a situation that calls for more stimulus and one that Chinese trade ministers must now seriously focus on.
Dreary developments like this are likely to fan a negative sentiment that the government will need to exert more efforts to prevent a deeper economic slump from happening, in the midst of signs of warming of tense trade ties among the giant economies of the world.
After last week's negotiations, US President Donald Trump and his team of advisers presented the initial steps to put closure on the country's trade spat with the Chinese and rescheduled a planned tax increase for mid-October.
Nonetheless, current tariffs remain in motion and both parties agreed more work is needed to be done before an agreement can be reached.
September represented another significant escalation in the two country's discord, with Washington implementing 15 percent taxes on over US$ 125 billion worth of Chinese products from September 1, and China with their own retaliatory response.
September's exports dropped 3.2 percent from the previous year, the biggest fall since February, customs data showed on Monday. Analysts had predicted a 3% decline in a survey in Reuters after the 1% decline in August.
"The headline figures suggest global demand softened last month, adding to the pressure from US tariffs that came into effect in September," Capital Economics analysts disclosed.
Several economists attributed a fading in the so-called "front-loading" effect to the decline in exports. Several Chinese firms hurried ahead of the September deadline to ship goods to the United States, boosting export readings in July and August overall.
Total imports from September dropped 8.4 percent after the 5.5 percent fall in August, the lowest since May. Analysts had predicted a 5.1 percent drop for them.
Despite initiatives boosting growth for more than a year, China's domestic demand remained stubbornly low as economic uncertainty puts more pressure on business and consumer sentiment and discourages fresh investment.
A trade surplus of US$39.59 billion was recorded by Trade Surplus China last month, compared to a surplus of US$34.85 billion in August. Analysts had a US$33.2 billion estimate.
In September, its trade surplus with the United States was pegged at US$25.9 billion, down from US$26.98 billion in August. Some sectors maintained an upbeat outlook as China's industrial imports, which include copper and iron, improved for the month sparked by steady demand at steel plants.
China's exports to the US dropped almost 11 percent in dollar terms in January-September from a year earlier, while US imports fell around 27 percent during that time, Customs data showed.
