Data out yesterday showed that Chinese exports rose by 25 per cent in the year to September, compared to 34 per cent in the year to August. But Capital Economics has calculated that on seasonally adjusted terms, exports fell 0.6 per cent on the month before, while imports rose 0.3 per cent.

The snag is, the gap between exports and imports is massive. And it will take a lot more than the small gap in export and import growth in August to make a significant dent in this gap, or is that chasm.

Apparently the trade surplus in August was $17bn, from $29bn in July. But even so, the August surplus was still around a third up on this time last year. Mark Williams, Senior China Economist at Capital Economics said: “More worrying for anyone fearful of the potential for a protectionist backlash, the surplus with the US shows no sign of falling.”

For more on the massive trade imbalances between China and the US, and the prospects of a currency war, see yesterday’s main feature: Fed prepares to unleash WMDs in currency war

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