China's aggregate trade surplus was expected to surge 42.8 percent from the
end of last year to 254.03 billion US dollars in 2007 although exports might
grow less rapidly, a forecasting agency of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
has predicted.
The year's total exports were projected at 1.20 trillion
US dollars, up 23.7 percent year-on-year, compared with a rise of 27.2 percent
last year. Total imports were estimated around 946 billion US dollars, up 19.5
percent from the previous year, said a CAS report.
The surplus against
the United States would rose by 23.5 percent to 178.2 billion US dollars, with
exports hitting 263.6 billion US dollars, up 29.8 percent year-on-year.
The European Union would remain to be the largest trade partner of China,
recording imports of 239.3 billion U.S. dollars from China and exports of 111
billion US dollars.
The report released by the CAS's Center for
Forecasting Sciences said that China would export 29.2 percent more new
high-tech products worth 363.6 billion US dollars in total and import 20 percent
more worth 296.7 billion US dollars.
It also predicted a slowdown in
clothing, textile and shoe exports with their annual growth rates ranging from
13.3 to 15.8 percent.
Crude oil imports would grow by a slower 4.8
percent to 69.6 billion US dollars.
The import of refined oil products
would edge up only by 4.8 percent to 69.6 billion US dollars while that of iron
ore would surge by 47 percent to 30.75 billion US dollars, the report
said.
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