China will likely see its trade surplus hit another record of $150 billion year, a ranking economic official said Oct. 30. The surplus will help push forex reserves beyond one trillion dollars before the end of 2006, said Yao Jingyuan, chief economist at the National Bureau of Statistics.
If Yao's prediction turns out to be correct, the 2006 surplus will be an increase of nearly 50% over last year's $102 billion surplus, itself a record.
China's trade surplus reached $110 billion in the first nine months of the year, according to previously published statistics.
Yao also said economic growth this year would "definitely" exceed 10%, but added concerns about overheating have diminished. "Macroeconomic controls have achieved very good results this year and China has achieved very fast and stable development." He was referring to increases in interest rates, reserve ratios and macro controls on land use and investment in manufacturing.
China's economy, the world's fourth largest, expanded by 10.7% in the first three quarters of this year.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
