ZCZC
BCN-23
CHINA-US-TRADE-ECONOMY
China’s trade surplus with US swells in June
BEIJING, July 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – China’s surplus with the US swelled in
June, data showed Friday, likely stoking tensions with Donald Trump, who has
imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods citing unfair trade
practices.
The increase came as total trade between the world’s top two economies
rose 13.1 percent for the first half of the year, despite the face-off, which
has seen tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods and
warnings of more to come.
China’s surplus with the US rose to $133.8 billion in January-June, and a
record $28.97 billion last month.
The imbalance is at the heart of Trump’s anger at what he describes as
Beijing’s unfair trade practices that are hurting American companies and
destroying jobs.
But on Thursday, China blamed those problems on the US, saying the trade
imbalance was “overestimated” and caused by “domestic structural problems” in
the United States, in a statement from the commerce ministry.
“This trade dispute will definitely have an impact on China-US trade and
will have a very negative impact on global trade,” said customs
administration spokesman Huang Songping at a briefing Friday.
With the wider world, China’s exports rose 11.3 percent on-year in June,
beating a Bloomberg News forecast of 9.5 percent, while imports increased
14.1 percent, below the forecast 21.3 percent.
BSS/AFP/HR/1016