China posted a record $14.5 billion trade surplus in June, up 49% year-on-year and surpassing the $13 billion reported in May, the commerce ministry said July 10.
China's trade surplus for the first six months totaled $61.45 billion, up 54.9%. Exports in June rose 23.3% year-on-year to $81.31 billion, while imports grew 18.9% to $66.81 billion.
"China's strong exports have been underpinned by firm foreign demand, massive outsourcing of production to China by multinationals and a currency that has been relatively stable," Lehman Brothers' Global Weekly Economic Monitor said in its July 10 edition.
However, China's imports in June were down slightly from the 21.7% year-on-year growth registered in May; similarly exports in June were slightly down from 25.1% , the government statistics showed.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
