China's trade surplus tops $100 bil. in 2005

BEIJING, Jan. 12 Kyodo

China's trade surplus exceeded $100 billion in 2005 due mainly to a robust increase in exports of products such as electronics and textiles, customs officials said in a report released Wednesday.

Exports grew 28.4 percent over 2004 to $762 billion, while imports went up 17.6 percent to $660.12 billion, resulting in a surplus of $101.88 billion, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

The country's total trade grew 23.2 percent last year to $1.422 trillion, according to the statistics.

Home appliances, high-tech electronics and textiles were the leading 2005 exports, said Zhao Xijun, an international finance professor with the People's University of China. He said raw materials and energy were the country's top imports.

China's biggest trading partners were the European Union at

$217.31 billion and the United States at $211.63 billion. Both imported more than they exported.

Market liberalization under World Trade Organization rules and a rush by Chinese companies to export products before China adjusted its currency in July explain the 2005 increase in trade, Zhao said.

On July 21 last year, China dropped its decade-old dollar-pegged exchange system and adopted a managed float system linked to a basket of foreign currencies, resulting in a 2.1 percent revaluation of the yuan against the U.S. dollar.

Zhao said some companies anticipated the currency adjustment.

In Asia, Japan topped other countries' trade with China with

$184.45 billion in imports and exports, up 9.9 percent over 2004, the customs statistics say.

Trade with South Korea totaled $111.9 billion, up 24.3 percent, and trade with Hong Kong was $136.7 billion, up 21.3 percent.

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