The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Beijing

China said today (Monday) its trade surplus hit a monthly record 27.1 billion dollars in October, an announcement likely to increase foreign calls for adjustments to the yuan.

The accumulated surplus for the first 10 months was 212.4 billion dollars, an increase of 59 percent from the same period in 2006, the state customs bureau said on its website.

The October figures make it virtually certain that the full- year 2007 surplus will shatter last year's record 177.5 billion dollars.

The surplus last month was fuelled by 22.3 percent growth in Chinese exports to 107.7 billion dollars, while imports grew 25.5 percent 80.7 billion dollars.

The United States and other foreign critics argue that the yuan is kept artificially low to make Chinese exports more competitive, allowing China to compile its massive surplus and add to a foreign exchange hoard now at more than 1.4 trillion dollars.

Some in the US Congress have called for sanctions to punish China over its currency policies, but Bush administration officials have opted for negotiations and occasional complaints at the World Trade Organisation.

China de-linked the yuan from the US dollar in 2005 and has since allowed it to rise about 10 percent against the greenback, a pace many US officials consider too slow.