April 10 (Bloomberg) -- China's trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in March as exports rose at the slowest pace in five years.
The gap was 38 percent smaller than a year earlier at $6.87 billion, the customs bureau said on its Web site. That's the least in 13 months and less than half the $20 billion median estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Chinese businesses rushed to sell products overseas in January and February, concerned at protectionist sentiment abroad and government moves to slow exports, said Wang Qing, an economist at Bank of America Corp. in Hong Kong. ``It's more important to look at the first quarter as a whole, which is a really large trade surplus,'' said Wang.
China wants to curb the trade surplus, which rose to a record $177.5 billion last year, by easing import restrictions and reducing export incentives. The gap has stoked trade frictions that include two complaints by the U.S. to the World Trade Organization, due to be filed today.
Exports gained 6.9 percent to $83.4 billion in March and imports climbed 14.5 percent to $76.6 billion. For the first three months, the surplus was $46.44 billion, nearly double the gap a year earlier.
U.S. lawmakers charge that China keeps its currency undervalued, protects piracy and subsidizes products sold overseas. The Commerce Department last month levied duties on coated-paper imports from China and the government is to file two complaints aimed at stopping piracy of movies, music, software and books.
U.S. Trade
China's trade surplus with the U.S. fell to $9.5 billion in March from $12.3 billion in February, the customs bureau said, while that with Europe declined to $6.4 billion from $11.8 billion.
One of the U.S. complaints is that China's laws are too lenient on pirates of movie or music disks. The other is that foreign book and movie sales are restricted.
China's commerce ministry has called the coated-paper tariffs ``unacceptable'' and said it reserved the right to take ``necessary'' action. The U.S. trade deficit with China jumped to a record $232.5 billion last year.
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China's Trade Surplus Doubles, Adding U.S. Friction (Update1)
April 10 (Bloomberg) -- China's trade surplus almost doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, adding to friction as the U.S. takes complaints against the Asian nation to the World Trade Organization.
The surplus widened to $46.4 billion from $23.3 billion, the customs bureau said on its Web site today. The gap for March was $6.87 billion, smaller than economists expected.
U.S. complaints to the WTO, alleging a failure to adequately curb copyright violations, will ``severely damage'' trade relations, China's government said today. American lawmakers also accuse the Asian nation of keeping its currency undervalued to make exports cheaper.
``Trade friction between the two will be ongoing provided China continues to run a sizeable trade surplus with the U.S.,'' said Tai Hui, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc. in Hong Kong.
China wants to curb its trade surplus, which expanded to a record $177.5 billion last year, by easing import restrictions and reducing export incentives. The March gap was 38 percent smaller than a year earlier, the least in 13 months, and less than half the $20 billion median estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Chinese businesses, concerned at protectionist sentiment abroad and government moves to slow exports, rushed to sell products overseas in January and February, said Wang Qing, an economist at Bank of America Corp. in Hong Kong. ``It's more important to look at the first quarter as a whole, which is a really large trade surplus,'' said Wang.
Slower Export Growth
Exports gained 6.9 percent to $83.4 billion in March, the slowest pace in five years, and imports climbed 14.5 percent to $76.6 billion.
The March figures will do ``nothing, zilch, nada to address political concerns in the U.S. about China's overall trade surplus,'' said Stephen Green, senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc. in Shanghai. ``The numbers have now settled down, but still to a very high level.''
The U.S. Commerce Department last month levied duties on coated-paper imports from China and the government is due to file two complaints aimed at stopping piracy of movies, music, software and books with the WTO today.
China's trade surplus with the U.S. fell to $9.5 billion in March from $12.3 billion in February, the customs bureau said, while that with Europe declined to $6.4 billion from $11.8 billion.
U.S. Complaint
One of the U.S. complaints is that China's laws are too lenient on pirates of movie or music disks. The other is that foreign book and movie sales are restricted.
China's commerce ministry has called the coated-paper tariffs ``unacceptable'' and said it reserved the right to take ``necessary'' action. The U.S. trade deficit with China jumped to a record $232.5 billion last year.
The size of the March surplus ``will do little to ease protectionist angst in Washington,'' said Glenn Maguire, chief Asia economist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong. ``We still believe the full-year trade surplus will be above $250 billion.''
Besides trade tensions, the surplus has pumped cash into China's economy, fueling inflation, asset bubbles and investment in factories that won't be needed in a slowdown. The central bank last month raised interest rates to an eight-year high and has ordered lenders to set aside more money as reserves six times in less than a year to cool lending and investment.
China's government has resisted calls to allow the yuan to strengthen faster on concerns that higher-priced exports will lead to failed businesses and higher unemployment at home. The currency has gained about 1 percent against the U.S. dollar this year.
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