国际英语新闻：Trade winds blowing strong in China

BEIJING, April 1 -- China's full-year trade balance will still be in surplus and there is nothing to be alarmed about the figures turning into a deficit in March, economists said on Wednesday.

The nation in 2009 surpassed Germany as the second largest importer in the world after the United States, according to a recent report from the World Trade Organization.

That in turn also explains the reason for the March deficit to some extent.

The surging imports may helped China to register a trade deficit in March, Premier Wen Jiabao and Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said last week. It would also mark the first monthly deficit in the past six years.

The March deficit will also to some extent reduce the heat that China faces from other nations, led by the United States, to revalue the yuan.

But the nation will still face pressures on this front, as the deficit is albeit only a temporary phenomenon, said the economists.

Many US politicians have of late been pressuring the Barack Obama administration to label China as a currency manipulator and have also threatened the use of punitive measures on China's exports.

China has been a major victim of these trade measures, such as anti-dumping duties, in the past 15 years, and incurred losses of $30-$40 billion so far, said a report by the Ministry of Commerce.

China is scheduled to release its trade figures for March on April 10. The nation's trade surplus has plummeted by over 50 percent in the first two months of the year.