Chinese import numbers are even more dismaying. After dropping 21.3 per cent in December, imports fell a staggering 43.1 per cent in January.

At first glance there seems to be a silver lining in the export numbers: they are not as bad as those reported by some other Asian countries. In December, for example, Taiwan's exports fell by 42 per cent, South Korea's by 17 per cent and Japan's by 35 per cent, capping many months of contraction. Less developed Asian countries also performed worse than China, which suggests China may have increased its competitive edge over its trading rivals. But it is precisely this relative outperformance that indicates the severity of the adjustment yet to take place. China's trade surplus for January was a mind-blowing $39.1bn (€31.1bn, ￡27.4bn), just under November's all-time high of $40.1bn and edging out December's $39bn for second place. In comparison, in the first half of 2008 China's average monthly trade surplus was an already high $16.7bn. In the second half it surged to $32.9bn.

The global economy is experiencing a sharp contraction in demand – which must be “shared” among all of the world's producers. The decline in Chinese exports means that Chinese producers, of course, are absorbing part of that contraction; but the bigger decline in imports means that Chinese consumers are contributing a greater amount to the contraction in global demand.