(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-11 09:31

The country posted a record trade surplus of US$26.9 billion in June as exporters rushed out shipments ahead of cuts in export tax rebates.

The result, which easily surpassed economists’ expectations of a US$24 billion gap, was much higher than the previous monthly record of US$23.8 billion, set last October.

Economists said the surge was largely due to firms seeking to fill orders before July 1, when value-added tax rebates on a swathe of products were either reduced or scrapped.

“The export tax rebate certainly played a part in the record monthly trade surplus,” said Li Yushi, vice head of a think tank under the Ministry of Commerce.

Annual export growth in June hit 27.1 percent, while imports grew by 14.2 percent. Economists had expected increases of 28.2 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Li said the full-year surplus for 2007 was likely to be large but that the latest monthly figure by itself would not necessarily ratchet up the government’s disputes with its major trading partners.

But the latest figures support a longer-term trend that could lead to increased pressure, particularly from Washington, where critics say China is keeping the yuan undervalued, giving its exporters an unfair advantage in global markets.

The overall surplus for the first six months came to US$112.5 billion, the Customs Administration said on its Web site, 83 percent more than in the same period last year. The rolling 12-month surplus reached US$229.2 billion, up from US$216.6 billion in May.

Hong Liang with Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong estimated that the surplus for the first half would equal about 8 percent of gross domestic product during that period, a level she called “unprecedented” for China or any other major economy.