China's trade surplus narrows in November

China’s exports and imports both rose in November, narrowing the country’s trade surplus to US$22.9 billion from US$27.2 billion the previous month, state media reported. Exports rose 34.9% year-on-year in November, from 22.9% October, while imports increased 37.7%, up from 25.3% in October. Xiao Bo, an analyst at Huarong Securities in Beijing, said the higher-than-expected exports were a result of "seasonal factors." He expects export growth to fall in early 2011 and imports to increase at a steady pace, further eroding the trade surplus. Wang Tao, China economist at UBS Securities, estimates that exports will climb by 29% this year before slowing to 15.5% in 2011. Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Saturday that China’s full-year trade surplus would be lower than the US$190 billion recorded in 2009. Chen told a conference that the country would "make vigorous efforts to expand imports."