China Exports Fall for Fourth Month as Once-Reliable Growth Engine Sputters

China has struggled to sustain a wave of overseas demand for Chinese-made goods that carried it through much of the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly as Western consumers tilted their spending back toward services and away from goods. Higher borrowing rates in the U.S. and other developed countries also hit consumer appetites. China’s outbound shipments dropped 8.8% in August from a year earlier, contracting for a fourth consecutive month, China’s General Administration of Customs said Thursday.