In Depth: Why China’s Exports Are in the Doldrums

In October, traffic on the highway leading to one of the world’s largest ports by cargo throughput was unusually light.

In past years, the roads leading to the Ningbo-Zhoushan port in East China’s Zhejiang province would have been packed in the week leading up to the Oct. 1 National Day holiday, the peak season for shipping, said Wang Lei, executive vice president at Safewell Group Holdings (China) Co. Ltd., a manufacturer and exporter of safes and telecom products. “Traffic jams were unavoidable,” Wang told Caixin in October. “Now, there are barely any cars.”