BEIJING, Dec 12: China’s soaring exports pushed the trade surplus to a record $90.8 billion in the first 11 months of the year, up 332 per cent over the same period last year, official statistics showed Monday.

Exports totaled $686.54 billion, up 29.7 per ent, in the 11 months of 2005, while imports came to $595.73 billion, up 17.1 per ent year on year, the Ministry of Commerce said on its website.

China’s foreign trade volume was up by 23.5 per ent year-on-year to 1,282 billion dollars during the period, it said.

November’s trade volume reached $33.74 billion, the highest single monthly trade volume this year, it said.

The country recorded a trade surplus of $2 billion last year, which opened it to a barrage of criticism from the United States that it keeps its currency, the yuan, undervalued to give it an unfair trade advantage.

General trade exports maintained fast growth in the first 11 months of the year, reaching 538.81 billion dollars, up 21.4 per ent year-on-year.

Processing trade volume reached $20.56 billion, up 26 per ent, it said.

The European Union continued to be China’s largest trade partner in the first 11 months of this year, with bilateral trade volume topping $96.7 billion up 23.6 per ent year-on-year.—AFP