Further deceleration

Declining overseas orders leave Chinese exporters no choice but to batten down the hatches for increasingly rough times ahead.

It seems that policymakers must consider a comprehensive fiscal package to boost economic growth, not merely export growth, sooner rather than later .

Contracts signed during the 104th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, which closed last week, shrank 17.5 percent from the previous fair held in April and 15.8 percent from the autumn fair last year.