The figures, which come a day after China reported a slowdown in auto sales and factory output, underscored concerns that the world's No. 2 economy is succumbing to an economic downturn despite government efforts to stimulate growth.
Chinese trade data for July showed exports rising just 1 per cent over a year earlier, sharply below forecasts of 5 per cent. Import growth fell to 4.7 per cent from the previous month's 6.3 per cent, also below forecasts.
Meanwhile, the trade surplus with the 27-nation European Union, China's biggest trading partner, narrowed by 37.9 per cent to $10.8 billion, reflecting sluggish demand as Europe wrestles with a debt crisis and recession.
the data confirms worries that China's export industry is being hit hard by the turmoil in Europe and that drastic steps are needed to prevent China from falling into an economic trap known as stagflation in which unemployment and inflation are both high, That is bad news for the Chinese economy so the government will need to do something more to stimulate the economy, "I think next year you will have recession and inflation at the same time — stagnant economic growth but inflation, so people are getting poorer by the day.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.2 per cent to 8,867.45. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.9 per cent to 20,087.71 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5 per cent to 4,286.70. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 per cent to 1,937.76.
Markets in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia opened higher but fell after China released its trade data.
Some traders held out hopes that Chinese authorities would be spurred to take steps to stanch the downturn.
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