China recorded an unexpected trade deficit of 22.98 billion USD in February, official figures showed on March 8, with authorities blaming the country’s holiday season for the weak performance. Inflated Chinese export data are back. The ruse of puffed-up export invoices to convert extra foreign currency into renminbi is on the rise again, casting doubt on recent strong export data. Chinese exports hit a high of $214bn in September, well ahead of forecasts. Growth of 15.3 per cent from a year earlier was also the swiftest pace in 20 months. That looked like good news for an economy where fixed-asset investment, traditionally the biggest growth driver, is slowing on the back of a weak property market. But economists […]