China’s external trade declined in October, as downward pressures continue to affect the world’s second largest economy, indicated official data.

On Sunday the Chinese General Administration of Customs said exports in October dropped by 3.6 percent – in yuan terms – from the previous year. There was a 1.1 percent fall in September judged year-on-year.

Chinese imports plunged 16 percent in yuan terms year-on-year in October, following a decline of 17.7 percent in September.

In efforts to counter the downward pressure on external trade and on the general economy, the Chinese Government has cut bank interest rates six times in less than a year.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce forecast last week that Chinese exports would remain flat this year while imports would probably fall substantially. But Chinese trade still fared better than external trade in most other economies, the Ministry stressed in a report.

In the first 10 months of this year, the value of Chinese exports dropped by 2 percent from previous year to 11.46 trillion yuan (US$1.81 trillion) while China’s imports went down by 15.2 percent to 8.47 trillion yuan.