China's December imports missed market expectations, rising only 4.5 per cent year-on-year, while exports beat forecasts with 10.9 per cent growth, official data showed on Friday. That left the country with a trade surplus of US$54.69 billion for the month, according to a Reuters calculation based on official data. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected December shipments from the world's largest exporter to have risen 9.1 per cent, slower than the 12.3 per cent increase in the previous month. Imports had been forecast to rise 13.0 per cent, softening from an 17.7 per cent gain seen in November, with the trade ... (full story)