Chinese foreign trade growth in the first two months of 2020 was the lowest since 2016. The drop remains nonetheless small compared to the global financial crisis in 2009, when exports and imports slowed as much as -26.5% and -43.1% y/y in a month. In January and February 2020, Chinese exports and imports declined respectively by -17.2% and -4.0% y/y. The drop in exports was larger than expected and implies the weakest start of the year since 2016. The coming months could show further deterioration in China’s foreign trade, as containment measures across the world act as a major trade barrier.