China's recent strong international trade growth experienced a slowdown in October 2017, according to the latest government data.

October's exports rose by 6.9 per cent from a year earlier in dollar terms, which was lower than the 8.1 per cent figure recorded in September, as well as falling short of the 7.2 per cent forecast made by analysts polled by Reuters.

Meanwhile, imports grew by 17.2 per cent year on year, exceeding the 16 per cent growth forecast, but remaining below the 18.7 per cent rise seen in September.

Although these growth trends remain healthy, they offer evidence that the better-than-expected economic growth of nearly 6.9 per cent that China experienced in the first nine months of the year is starting to fade.

Government infrastructure investment, a resilient property market and unexpectedly good export figures helped to drive this growth, but a subsequent crackdown on pollution is now starting to weigh on factory outputs.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, Capital Economics' China economist, said: "We suspect that this reflects a slight easing of growth in other emerging markets, along with weaker domestic demand as a result of slower infrastructure spending."