China's trade growth cooled in December in a possible sign of weaker global and domestic demand, but last year's total exports rose 7.9 percent over 2016 while imports were up 15.9 percent. The politically volatile global trade surplus stood at $422.5 billion, down from $486 billion in 2016. "Downside risks remain, in particular from more forceful U.S. trade restrictions on Chinese exports," Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics said in a report. Chinese trade has been unexpectedly strong, contrary to forecasts that economic growth will cool as Beijing tightens controls on credit to slow a rise in debt. China's trade surplus in December with the 28-nation European Union, its biggest trading partner, stood at $14.6 billion.

Source: ABC News January 12, 2018 03:50 UTC