China exports grow much more than expected BEIJING, October 13 - China's exports grew at roughly twice the rate expected in September while imports returned to the path of expansion, suggesting government measures to prop up economic growth are working and additional policy action may not be needed for now. Customs data showed exports in September grew 9.9 per cent from a year earlier, roughly twice the 5 per cent rate expected by investors and up sharply from the 2.7 per cent annual rise recorded in August. Imports rose 2.4 per cent year-on-year in September, in line with findings in the benchmark Reuters poll that had forecast a recovery from August's surprise 2.6 per cent annual decline. The trade surplus was $27.7bn in September, compared with a forecast of $20.7bn and August's $26.7bn. "The export data are much stronger than expected, signalling that overseas markets have recovered," said Xiao Bo, economist at Huarong Securities in Beijing. Mr Xiao said a trade recovery implied a slide in China's economic growth was likely to have been arrested, boding well for a recovery to take hold in the fourth quarter to brighten the jobs outlook - a key factor for Beijing as a November leadership transition for the ruling Communist Party looms. "With the recovery in the export growth, we think Beijing will not cut required reserve ratios or interest rates further in the coming months as policy makers tend to keep policy stable when China heads towards a once-a-decade leadership change," Mr Xiao said. China has cut required reserve ratios for commercial banks by 150 basis points since November last year, freeing an estimated 1.2 trillion yuan ($190bn) for lending, and cut interest rates in June and July to help underpin growth. Analysts say the outlook for China's trade remains tough as the debt crisis drags on in Europe - the single biggest overseas market for Chinese goods - and a slower-than-expected recovery in the US economy would continue to be a significant drag on China's export growth for the rest of the year. China targets 10 per cent growth in total trade this year, a figure which officials concede is going to be hard to achieve as they say external demand for the rest of the year may be weaker than in the first eight months of 2012. China's exports generated 31 per cent of gross domestic product in 2011, according to World Bank data, and supported an estimated 200m jobs. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the economy to have its weakest year of expansion since 1999. China is due to publish economic data for the third quarter on Thursday and analysts expect it to confirm GDP growth slowed for a seventh successive quarter, slipping to 7.4 per cent year on year - the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, when the global financial crisis raged and world trade ground to a halt. To cushion headwinds from external risks, Beijing has rolled out an array of measures to help relieve the burden on exporters, such as accelerating tax rebate payments, cutting red tape and loosening access to bank loans. The finance ministry said last month it would suspend inspection and quarantine fees for all goods coming in and out of China for the rest of this year to shield exporters and importers from the global economic downturn. On the domestic front, the government in September gave the go-ahead to infrastructure projects worth around $157bn. - Reuters