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China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

Weak yuan is driving China's economy to a record expansion; trade surplus nearly doubled

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 10, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

(Newser) – China's trade surplus surged to a record $26.9B in June, an 87% increase since last year. Economists attribute the trade gap to China's significantly—as much as 40%—underpriced currency, the yuan, reports Bloomberg. Half of China's surplus is with the US, which recently began preparing legislation to sanction countries that deliberately use a weakened currency to gain an unfair advantage.

Exports from China rose 27% to a record $103.27 billion, while imports increased a meager 14% to $76.4 billion, the slowest growth in four months. On the whole, a boost in overseas sales drove China—which boasts the fastest growing major economy—to an 11.1% total economic increase.

Chinese migrant worker Zhang Guijun, foreground, reacts as he receives his delayed wages of 6,960 yuan (US$892) in Shenyang, northern China's Liaoning province, in this Dec. 29, 2006 file photo. China took steps Friday, May 18, 2007 to let its currency appreciate faster against the dollar and to cool...
Chinese migrant worker Zhang Guijun, foreground, reacts as he receives his delayed wages of 6,960 yuan (US$892) in Shenyang, northern China's Liaoning province, in this Dec. 29, 2006 file photo. China...   (Associated Press)
FILE--In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, workers walk beside oil pipelines at PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company refinery in Dushanzi  in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in this Saturday, July 29, 2006 file photo. New research by investment bank Goldman Sachs suggests four countries in particular, Brazil,...
FILE--In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, workers walk beside oil pipelines at PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company refinery in Dushanzi in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur...   (Associated Press)
Containers are piled up at Ningbo Port in Ningbo, China in this June 9, 2005 photo. China's politically sensitive trade surplus soared in May to the third-highest monthly level on record, according to government figures released Monday, June 11, 2007,  amid growing pressure from U.S. lawmakers for sanctions against...
Containers are piled up at Ningbo Port in Ningbo, China in this June 9, 2005 photo. China's politically sensitive trade surplus soared in May to the third-highest monthly level on record, according to...   (Associated Press)
A Chinese woman works at her sewing machine at a garment factory in the suburbs of Beijing in this May 20, 2005 file photo. With a critical round of trade talks with Washington opening Wednesday, May 23, 2007, Chinese leaders are pointing to the potential financial troubles of exporters in...
A Chinese woman works at her sewing machine at a garment factory in the suburbs of Beijing in this May 20, 2005 file photo. With a critical round of trade talks with Washington opening Wednesday, May...   (Associated Press)
Containers are piled up at Ningbo Port in Ningbo, China in this June 9, 2005 photo. China's politically sensitive trade surplus soared in May to the third-highest monthly level on record, according to government figures released Monday, amid growing pressure from U.S. lawmakers for sanctions against Beijing. The surplus...
Containers are piled up at Ningbo Port in Ningbo, China in this June 9, 2005 photo. China's politically sensitive trade surplus soared in May to the third-highest monthly level on record, according to...   (Associated Press)
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The Chinese Economy: Can We Keep the Heat Alive? (2007)   (AspenInstitute (YouTube))

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