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China recorded a sharp decline in exports and a rare $22.98 billion deficit in February, raising fresh concerns over the strength of the world's No. 2 economy.
中国2月份出口大幅下滑，导致当月罕见地发生229.8亿美元贸易逆差。这引发了外界对全球第二大经济体经济健康状况的新担忧。
But analysts cautioned that distortions from the timing of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday probably contributed to the export decline, and that it remained to be seen whether global demand for Chinese goods continues to show weakness in the months ahead.
但分析师们提醒说，春节时间因素的影响可能是导致中国2月份出口下滑的一个原因，未来数月全球对中国商品的需求是否仍将疲软还有待观察。
Exports fell 18.1% from a year ago and were far worse than the 5% increase that economists had expected. They followed a strong 10.6% expansion in January and were the first year on year export drop since September 2013.
中国2月份出口同比下降18.1%，比经济学家此前预计的增长5%要糟糕得多。1月份出口增长10.6%，2月份是去年9月以来中国出口首次出现下滑。
Imports rose a relatively strong 10.1% over a year ago, after a 10% gain in January, and the resulting deficit was the first since a small trade shortfall in March last year. It was also the biggest trade deficit since February 2012 when it hit $31.5 billion.
2月份进口同比增长10.1%，表现相对强劲。1月份进口增长10%。中国上一次出现贸易逆差是去年3月份，当月出现了规模较小的贸易逆差。而2月份的贸易逆差则是2012年2月以来规模最大的逆差，当月的贸易逆差为315亿美元。
'I was expecting weak results for February as manufacturers pulled exports forward ahead of the New Year holiday,' said Andrew Polk, economist at the Conference Board.
世界大型企业研究会(Conference Board)的经济学家波尔克(Andrew Polk)表示，他原本就预计中国2月份出口疲弱，因为制造商们在春节假期之前进行了提前发货。
'But I definitely wasn't expecting (export) results that were this bad.'
他表示，但他绝对没有想到结果会这么糟。
Manufacturers often speed shipments ahead of the long holiday when migrant workers return home and production lines fall silent. But if exports continue to struggle in the coming months, this could have serious implications for China's goal of achieving about 7.5% economic growth this year.
中国的制造商通常会在春节长假前加快发货速度，因为春节期间外来打工者都会回家过年，生产也会暂停。但如果未来几个月出口继续不振，可能会对中国政府实现今年经济增长约7.5%的目标产生严重影响。
China's exports had been one of the bright spots in the overall growth picture--just as Beijing tries to restructure its economy away from a reliance on investment and boost the role of consumption to sustain longer term growth.
近来出口一直是中国总体经济增长中的亮点之一。中国政府正努力推动经济转型，降低经济对投资的依赖，加大消费对经济的拉动作用，以维持中长期经济增长。
Restructuring could sap some of the momentum from the expansion in the short term, and slower growth could jeopardize hopes of creating 10 million urban jobs this year and keeping urban unemployment below 4.6%.
结构调整短期内可能在一定程度上抑制经济增长势头。如果经济增长放缓，可能威胁到今年新增1千万个城镇工作岗位、将城镇失业率保持在4.6%以下的目标。
China's official gauge of factory activity known as the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index showed its weakest expansion in eight months in February while a competing index compiled by HSBC showed a contraction in the month.
一个衡量工厂活动的官方指标制造业采购经理人指数(PMI)显示，2月份中国制造业的扩张为八个月来的最弱水平，而汇丰(HSBC) 2月份中国制造业PMI显示当月制造业活动出现萎缩。
Exports in February were weak almost across the board as the value of shipments to the U.S. fell 11%, while exports to the European Union slid 14% and those to Hong Kong were down 25%.
2月份出口数据显示，出口几乎全面疲软。当月中国对美国出口下降11%，对欧盟出口下降14%，对香港出口下降25%。
Analysts said that despite the dismal headline numbers the situation was not entirely grim.
分析师们称，尽管总体数据低迷，但出口形势并非一片黑暗。
'If we look at combined January and February data the results were not so bad,' said Li Wei, economist at Standard Chartered Bank. 'And I don't think we will continue to see exports fall this year,' he added.
渣打银行(Standard Chartered Bank)经济学家李炜表示，如果把1月份和2月份的出口数据结合在一起来看，结果并不是很糟糕。他认为今年出口不会继续下滑。
Analysts said that over-invoicing by exporters last year inflated the base for comparison in February and this will continue for a few more months.
分析师们称，去年出口商大量虚开发票，从而抬高了2月份的比较基数，类似的情况还将持续几个月。
Exports surged nearly 22% year on year in February 2013 after a 25% jump in January of that year. Those numbers were widely believed to have been distorted by false invoices from exporters who wanted to skirt foreign exchange controls to bring foreign currency onshore. This was aimed at taking advantage of higher interest rates and an appreciating Chinese currency. The yuan rose 2.9% against the dollar last year, though it underwent a brief bout of weakness last month.
去年1月和2月，中国出口分别同比飙升25%和近22%。市场普遍认为，这些数字存在失真的情况，因为出口商大量虚开发票，希望绕开外汇管制将外汇转移至境内。这么做是爲了利用国内相对较高的利率以及人民币升值的机会获利。尽管上个月人民币兑美元经历了一轮跌势，但去年一年，人民币累计上涨了2.9%。
In May last year, foreign-exchange regulators cracked down on these invoicing practices, warning exporters of tough penalties for making false reports to customs authorities, and thereby squeezing out much of the false reporting.
去年5月，中国外汇监管部门严厉打击了这种虚开发票的行为，出口商如向海关部门虚报出口将受到严厉惩罚，这使得出口商虚报出口的情况少了很多。
Analysts said the false invoices of a year ago could continue to affect trade results for a few more months.
分析师们表示，一年前出口商虚报出口的做法可能会继续对未来几个月的贸易数据产生影响。
'In the coming months the export data is going to remain affected by the large over-invoicing of a year ago. That will continue to make reported export growth look worse than the underlying growth until May,' said Louis Kuijs, economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, in a note to clients.
苏格兰皇家银行(Royal Bank of Scotland)经济学家高路易(Louis Kuijs)在写给客户的报告中称，未来几个月的贸易数据将继续受去年出口商大量虚开发票的影响，5月份之前的贸易增长数据看上去都要比实际的增长情况差。
Meanwhile, there was strong demand for resources, a major indicator of China's industrial appetite. Importers continued to build stockpiles and take advantage of low global prices. Crude-oil imports rose 11% from a year earlier to 6.03 million barrels a day, while iron ore imports also were up 22% from February last year. Iron ore prices, for instance, fell to an eight-month low last month on a flood of new supply, as mining companies expanded their operations.
与此同时，中国对资源类产品的进口需求非常强劲。进口商继续利用全球价格处于低位之机建立库存。2月份中国原油进口量同比增长11%，至603万桶/天。铁矿石进口量同比增长22%。以铁矿石为例，由于供应激增，上个月其价格一度跌至八个月低点。
Soybean and copper imports also rose by double-digit margins in the period. Still, volumes in all these major categories fell from January's record-setting volumes, in part because of the shorter working period due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
2月份大豆和铜进口也呈现双位数增幅。不过，以上这些产品2月份的进口量均低于1月份的纪录高点，一定程度是因为农历新年假日让2月份的工作日天数变少了。
