China posts record trade surplus
China recorded its third-biggest monthly trade surplus in June as exports of home appliances and clothing surged, exposing trade disputes with the US and Europe. According to data released by China's Customs Bureau, the country's trade surplus rose from $8.99 billion in May to $9.7 billion in June. Exports rose 30.6 percent year on year to a record $66 billion in June, while imports rose 15.1 percent to $56.3 billion. The US and the European Union are considering broadening the scope of quotas on Chinese textile imports and are calling for China to change the Yuan-Dollar peg. For the first six months of the year, trade surplus reached $39.6 billion, surpassing the $32 billion reported for the whole of 2004. Exports rose 32.7 percent year on year to $342.3 billion in the first six months of 2005, while imports increased 14 percent year on year to $302.7 billion. In January to June, the value of China's electronics and machinery exports rose 33 percent to $186.99 billion, accounting for 54.6 percent of firs-half exports. Clothing export rose 19.8 percent year on year to $31.1 billion and exports of knitted fabrics jumped 23 percent to $19.25 billion. China's iron ore imports totaled 130 million metric tons in the first six months, up 34.3 percent from a year earlier. Coal imports increased 56.1 percent to 12.09 million tons. On the other hand, steel imports fell 26.5 percent to 13.22 million tons. China imported 64'000 units of automobiles in the first half, down 33.6 percent compared to the same period last year.