China Trade Surplus Hits $26.28B in Nov.

BEIJING — China's global trade surplus totaled $26.28 billion in November, the government announced Tuesday as top American officials were in Beijing to discuss trade, currency and Chinese product safety issues.

The figures show that foreign demand for low-cost Chinese goods has stayed strong despite a string of foreign recalls and warnings over faulty or tainted Chinese goods ranging from toothpaste to tires.

For the first 11 months of the year, China's trade surplus has reached $238.9 billion, 53 percent more than the same period a year ago.

Chinese leaders say they are not actively pursuing huge surpluses and have imposed new taxes to restrain exports of steel, plastic and other goods deemed too dirty or energy-intensive.

Exports totaled $117.62 billion in November, up 22.8 percent from the same month last year, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

But in a positive sign, imports rose at a faster rate, up 25.3 percent, to $91.34 billion. November's surplus was also down slightly from the monthly record $27.05 billion hit in October.

The release of the figures comes amid demands by some U.S. lawmakers for sanctions if Beijing fails to ease currency controls they believe contributes to China's bulging trade gap. The European Union has also pressed China for action on its currency.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is leading a team of American officials in Beijing for talks Tuesday with the one-day meeting of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade that deals with near-term regulatory and legal issues.

That is followed Wednesday and Thursday by the third round of the Strategic Economic Dialogue that grapples with longer-term economic plans.

The customs office did not give separate figures for China's surplus with the United States.

According to U.S. Commerce Department figures, the U.S. trade deficit with China is on track to surpass last year's record $233 billion.

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