Hong Kong-China trade figures suggest exports covering capital flight

December saw a drastic mismatch between exports to Hong Kong as reported by the territory and the mainland customs administration, with the former reporting a rise of 0.9% as the latter claimed growth of 64.5%, The Wall Street Journal reported. “This is very consistent with the idea that people are using trade accounts to get money out of China,” said Cliff Tan, head of global markets research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. “This is a very time-honored system in developing countries, you over-invoice imports and under-invoice exports to get money out of the country.”