BEIJING, Oct 13 — China’s exports are expected to improve in the fourth quarter, while a decline in imports will moderate, the General Administration of Customs said today.

“Previous policies are gradually gaining traction. If there are no big political and economic emergencies worldwide, our preliminary expectations show foreign trade will be better in the fourth quarter than that in the third quarter,” customs spokesperson Huang Songping told a news conference.

Rising labour costs and yuan appreciation hurt exporters’ competitiveness in the first ninth months of the year, Huang added.

But a devaluation in the yuan in August was positive for China exporters, he said. — Reuters