Trade surplus to exceed US$100 bln for first half

General Administration of Customs analyst expects China’s trade surplus to exceed US$100 billion for the first half of the year under the influence of the trade policies that were implemented recently.

In a bid to tighten the export volumes the government announced the implementation of higher export tariffs and lower import duties from Jun. 1. This caused a surge in May's export volume as companies rushed to beat the rise in export tariffs in June. Export volume for May was US$22.45 billion higher than the same period last year, up 73%. The government also announced a cut in tax rebates for 2,831 commodities with effect form Jul. 1. Manufacturers had been making full use of the tax rebates before the deadline.

Huang Guohua, a senior analyst with the China Custom, said that the policies aim at relieving the tension between China and her trade partners over trade imbalances by slowing down export growth. Huang expects export volumes and the trade surplus to exceed the realized figures in May. He said that the trade surplus would still be high on the whole for the year but would grow at a slower rate in the second half of the year.

Official trade figures will be released next week.