China reports bigger trade surplus
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Exports of mechanical and electrical goods, which accounted for 57.6 percent of the nation's exports, rose by 22.9 percent year-on-year to $319.8 billion in the first four months of this year
China's April exports to the EU rose by 19.7 percent. In the same month, Chinese exports to the US rose by 22.4 percent, while those to Japan grew by 27 percent.
"This suggests that the demand from developed economies may have been stronger than we thought," said Wang Tao, head of China Economic Research with UBS Securities.
"We do not expect the April data to have any obvious impact on the pace and magnitude of the appreciation of the renminbi," she said.
At the recent Canton Fair, Chinese manufacturers and exporters complained that the appreciation of the Chinese currency and the rising cost of labor affected their profit margins, raising concerns that exports could decline.
"These factors have a limited impact on China's exports in the short term. We will not see the real impact for many months," Li said.
"Chinese exports will continue to be robust this year but they will be outperformed by the growth in imports, narrowing the surplus this year."
China registered a trade deficit of $1.02 billion during the first quarter. Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce, said the nation would increase efforts to promote imports and balance trade.
Chen also said China's trade surplus will decrease this year and the ratio of the surplus to GDP will fall below 4 percent. Many experts predicted that the surplus will drop to $150 billion this year, from $180 billion last year.
Wang said the import slowdown in April will not last.
