In October, Taiwan’s exports to mainland China and Hong Kong fell 9.2 percent from a year earlier, the lowest in nearly 20 months, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Nov. 8.
Beatrice Tsai, director-general of the MOF Department of Statistics, said the numbers are indicators of China’s weakening economy.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s trade surplus from January to October—a 10-month period—declined 17.4 percent from a year earlier, to $43.67 billion. Compared to the same month last year, Taiwan’s trade surplus in October dipped 50 percent, to $2.99 billion.
As the largest purchasers of Taiwan-made goods, China and Hong Kong buy about 40 percent of Taiwan’s total exports, thus having the most significant impact on the island’s economy….