South Korean exports to China continued to post negative growth for the 16th straight month since July last year.

According to the Korea International Trade Association, Korean exports to China dropped more than eleven percent year-on-year in October to some eleven billion dollars.

On-year exports to China appeared to be recovering after posting five percent negative growth in August coming on the heels of a dramatic 21 percent drop in January.

However, due to labor strikes in the automotive sector at home and Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 7 recall and subsequent production fiasco, exports again worsened in recent months.

Struggling shipments to China are also believed to be due to Beijing’s increased self-sufficiency in supplying intermediary goods across a range of industries including steel, petrochemicals and high-tech sectors.

This trend is intensifying as major South Korean companies such as Samsung and LG are moving their production bases out of China to Vietnam because of rising labor costs.