Exports rose by 2.3% year on year in U.S. dollar terms last month, more than the 1.7% increase forecast by a Reuters poll.

Imports rose by 0.2% in December from a year earlier in U.S. dollar terms. That’s slightly less than the 0.3% increase expected by analysts polled by Reuters.

But for 2023, exports fell 4.6%, the first such annual drop since a 7.7% decline in 2016, according to Wind Information.

Imports dropped by 5.5% last year. Their last decline was in 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic began.

China’s trade with its major partners declined in 2023 as demand for Chinese goods fell amid slower global growth.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was China’s largest trading partner on a regional basis in 2023, followed by the European Union.

By country, the U.S. remained China’s largest trading partner.

Russia was a rare bright spot, with China’s exports to the country climbing nearly 47% in 2023, and imports rising almost 13%.

“Chinese manufacturers anticipate production to rise over the course of 2024 amid forecasts of firmer global demand, higher client spending and new product investment,” Caixin said in a release for its December manufacturing purchasing managers’ index.

The index showed mild improvement from November. “However, the degree of optimism softened from November and remained below the series average.”