China's May exports up 48.5%(71558)

Photo taken on June 8, 2010 shows the colossal chemicals-transport ship of Attilio Ievoli, which is manufactured by the Rushan Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for export to Italy, taking water at its launching ceremony, at Rushan, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Guoxian)

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- China's exports surged by 48.5 percent year on year in May, while the imports climbed 48.3 percent, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced Thursday.

The growth rate for exports was 18.1 percentage points up from the figure for April, and the import growth rate dipped slightly from 49.7 percent reported in April.

Exports totalled 131.76 billion U.S. dollars in May, said a statement on the GAS website, adding imports topped 112.23 billion U.S. dollars.

Experts said the strong growth of exports eased concerns that the European sovereign debt crisis would dent China's economic growth.

Total foreign trade value rose 48.4 percent from a year earlier to 243.99 billion U.S. dollars in May. The figure was 10.2 percent higher than May 2008 before the global financial crisis began, the statement said.

Exports were up 9.2 percent from May in 2008 and imports grew 11.4 percent.

From January to May, the total value of foreign trade rose 44 percent year on year to 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars.

Exports were up 33.2 percent to 567.74 billion U.S. dollars and imports rose 57.5 percent to 532.35 billion U.S. dollars, said the statement.

In the first five months, trade surplus fell 59.9 percent to 35.39 billion U.S. dollars. The trade surplus expanded to 19.53 billion U.S. dollars in May on surging exports from the 1.68 billion U.S. dollars in April and a deficit in March, the first time in six years.

In the January-May period, the European Union remained China's largest trade partner, with bilateral trade up 37.4 percent to 177.49 billion U.S. dollars. The growth rate for the first four months was 34.6 percent year on year.

The trade between China and the United States reached 138.68 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months, up 28.2 percent.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) replaced Japan to become China's third largest trade partner by thin margin. Its trade with China grew 57.5 percent to 111.8 billion U.S. dollars. China-Japan trade stood at 111.56 billion U.S. dollars, up 38.8 percent.

Zhang Xiaoji, a researcher at the National Development Research Center of the State Council, China's Cabinet, said China's exports continued recovery in May, and the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis did not pose a major threat to China's foreign trade.

Zhang said China's foreign trade data for April and May indicated that the global economy remained on the track of recovery.

He expected the foreign trade value to grow 10 percent for the whole year, and a big decline in the trade surplus.

UBS Securities economist Wang Tao also said in a note that the European debt crisis would not have big impact on China's exports in the near-term as exports to nations affected by the crisis only accounted for 2 percent of China's total.

A recovery in demand was still a major factor pushing up China's exports, Wang said.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, warned earlier this month that the expanding European sovereign debt crisis and trade frictions were among potential risks that might have a significant impact on China's economy.

China's May exports up 48.5%

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