exports plunge in china

According to the New York Times, exports have plummeted 17.5 percent in China over the last year. This is due to the sharp downturn of demand. Economists argue that China as an Asian country is still doing fairly well. For Example, They had a very healthy surplus last month, just shy of the November 2008 record of over $40 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/business/worldbusiness/12exports.html?_r=1