China's trade surplus balloons

SHANGHAI, China — Chinese exports unexpectedly surged last month, suggesting that China's massive trade surplus with the world could soar even higher this year and aggravate anti-Sino sentiments in Congress.

In January, China ran a trade surplus of about $9.5 billion, up 47 percent from a year earlier, the government said Monday.

"That's at least $3 billion higher than my expectation," said economist Song Guoqing of Peking University.

Although China amassed a record trade surplus of $101.9 billion last year, the pace of its exports slowed in November and December, raising hopes that its politically sensitive trade imbalance with the United States would ease. But the latest data suggest otherwise.

On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit for 2005 ballooned to a record $725.8 billion, with China accounting for a chunk.

Some U.S. senators have threatened to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing strengthens its currency, which has fluctuated but remains highly undervalued in the eyes of critics. Others are calling for a repeal of most-favored-nation trade status for China.

Economists cautioned that China's trade figures in the winter can be volatile because of holidays and tariff adjustments.

But they could not say what boosted January's export numbers.