China, with frustrating predictability, has served up another February conundrum for the global economy, publishing data that confuse more than they clarify.

It is a ritual that plays out at the start of every year but with one crucial difference as time goes by: now, more than ever, China’s difficult-to-decipher numbers have the ability to hold companies and investors around the world in their thrall. There are widespread concerns about Chinese growth in the wake of its financial turbulence, but as yet there is little solid evidence of how the economy is actually faring.

The latest riddle comes in the form of China’s January trade numbers, published yesterday. Analysts had forecast them to be flat or even negative. Instead, they came in well above expectations, with exports up 10 per cent from a year earlier and imports up 10.6 per cent.