China trade surplus continues to surge; rises nine-fold in February

03/12/07 - newratings.com

LONDON, March 12 (newratings.com) – China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world jumped nine-fold during February this year, driven by a sharp increase in the country’s exports.

China posted a surplus of $23.76 billion in February this year as compared to $2.5 billion reported for the year-ago period. The second highest monthly surplus in China’s history was driven by a 52% increase in the country’s exports. China’s imports during the month were up only 13%, according to latest official data. The country’s trade surplus for the first two months of 2007 stood at $39.6 billion. The official data revealed that China had trade surpluses of $12.2 billion with the US and $11.8 billion with Europe in February.

Meanwhile, China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said that China planned to take a number of measures in 2007 in a bid to reform the country’s financial system. The planned reforms will cover areas such as the exchange rate regime, interest rates, foreign exchange derivatives and the gold market, Xiaochaun added. China has been under intense pressure from the US and the European nations to take measures to curb its soaring trade surplus.