Nation's trade surplus jumps to record high in 2005
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-11 15:26

China's 2005 trade surplus more than tripled to a record 101.9 billion dollars from 31.98 billion dollars a year earlier, official figures show.

Beijing shoppers flow round a giant blowup dog to welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Dog. China's 2005 trade surplus more than tripled to a record 101.9 billion dollars from 31.98 billion dollars a year earlier, official figures show. [AFP]

Exports for the year were up 28.4 percent to 762 billion dollars, while imports rose 17.6 percent to 660.12 billion dollars, the China General Administration of Customs said on its website.

In the month of December alone the trade surplus was 11.01 billion dollars, up from November's 10.5 billion dollars.

Exports in the last month of 2005 gained 18.2 percent year-on-year to 75.41 billion dollars, compared with a rise in imports of 22.2 percent to 64.4 billion dollars.

China's total foreign trade was up 23.2 percent to 1.42 trillion dollars for the year, the administration said.

The European Union continued to be China's largest trade partner in 2005, with bilateral trade topping 217.3 billion dollars, up 22.6 percent.

The United States was China second largest trading partner with 211.6 billion dollars, an increase of 24.8 percent, followed by Japan on 184.4 billion dollars, up 9.9 percent.

China's trade surplus of nearly 32 billion dollars in 2004 opened it to a barrage of criticism from the United States that it keeps its currency, the yuan, undervalued to give it an unfair advantage.