China’s trade surplus rises 73% in May

China’s trade surplus soared again in May, reaching the third-highest monthly level on record, according to government figures released Monday.

The surplus hit $22.5 billion, up 73% from a year earlier, China’s customs agency said. Exports jumped 28.7% to $94 billion, and imports rose 19.1% to $71.6 billion.

China has promised to narrow its trade gap under pressure from Washington and other governments, but economists say multibillion-dollar surpluses are likely to continue.

The United States wants Beijing to raise the value of its currency, the yuan, which critics say is undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage. Several U.S. lawmakers are calling for punitive tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing fails to act.

Senior U.S. and Chinese envoys met last month for the second round of a high-level dialogue meant to address trade disputes. But they have failed to defuse tensions with Congress, where lawmakers say support for trade penalties is growing.

The United States reported a $232.5-billion trade deficit with China in 2006, and this year’s figure is expected to surpass that.

President Hu Jintao’s government says it isn’t actively seeking a trade surplus and is taking steps to rein in booming exports by imposing taxes on steel shipments and repealing export rebates.

The European Union was China’s biggest trading partner from January to May, with total two-way commerce rising 29% to $129.9 billion, the customs agency said. It gave no breakdown of imports and exports.

The U.S. was in second place, with two-way trade rising 18.2% to $115.2 billion in the period. Japan was No. 3, with trade up 15.5% to $91.2 billion.

Beijing is trying to reduce dependence on exports by encouraging China’s consumers to spend more, which would increase imports and narrow the trade gap. But that has had only limited success, with exports still growing much faster than domestic retail sales.

This year, China’s global trade surplus has reached $85.8 billion, equal to nearly half the total $177.5-billion surplus reported last year. That is smaller than the bilateral trade gap with the U.S. because China has deficits with some countries.

The World Bank and other experts say China’s trade surplus this year could top $250 billion.

The May surplus was just shy of the all-time monthly high of $23.8 billion reached in October.

The government reported a $23.7-billion surplus in February, but experts said that figure was swelled by exporters shipping goods early to beat a change in taxes that was expected to occur in March.

The March surplus was just $6.9 billion.