China: Imports from U.S. down 3 percent, exports down 16 percent

Data released Thursday by China’s Customs Administration shows China is importing less from the U.S. than it was a year ago through April, despite Beijing’s promise to increase its purchases of American goods by about 60 percent from last year’s totals. The U.S. trade deficit with China, however, is also down close to 22 percent as a result of a nearly 16 percent drop in Chinese exports to the U.S. U.S.-China trade has dropped about 13 percent overall, according to...