China's trade surplus is resulted from globalization and the international division of labor, and the government's measures to promote balanced foreign trade growth have achieved obvious effects, said the country's first white paper on foreign trade released Wednesday.

"It is the country's different level and status of participation in the international division of labor in manufacturing and the services industry that leads to China's big surplus in goods trade but a long-term deficit in services trade," said the paper, entitled China's Foreign Trade, issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

In 2010, China's surplus in trade in goods accounted for 6.1 percent of the total import and export volume and 3.1 percent of the GDP. Of the nine nations with the largest trade balances (favorable or unfavorable), China was not high up in the league table in terms of the two ratios, according to the paper.

"With the transfer of large numbers of labor-intensive processing and assembling sectors to China from Japan, Singapore and other nations and regions, their surpluses with the United States and Europe were also transferred to China," the paper said.

This explains why China runs trade surpluses with the U.S. and Europe, but has long-term deficits with Japan, Republic of Korea, ASEAN and other major intermediate producers.

The paper noted that China's surplus in trade in goods mainly comes from foreign-invested enterprises and processing trade. Last year, the surplus created by foreign-invested enterprises reached $124.3 billion, accounting for 68.4 percent of the total surplus of China's trade in goods.

Meanwhile, some developed countries still impose restrictions on high-tech exports to China, which also contributes to the country's large trade surplus, the paper said.

The sharp increase in surplus results in more trade frictions between China and its trading partners, as well as persistent pressure on the RMB to appreciate.

The government has adopted a series of policies to curb overheated surplus growth, including moves to expand domestic demand, increase imports, adjust export tax rebates, restructure and upgrade the processing trade and reform the yuan exchange rate mechanism, according to the paper.

During the period from the exchange rate reform in July 2005 to the end of August 2011, the nominal exchange rate of the yuan against the dollar appreciated by about 30 percent, said the paper.

Due to the nation's efforts to promote balanced foreign trade, China's surplus in trade in goods has been on a steady decline since 2009, and the proportion of surplus in the total import and export trade volume and the GDP has also dropped since 2008, according to the paper.

China has honored its WTO (World Trade Organization) commitments over the past decade by expanding market access, accelerating trade and investment facilitation and liberalization, reducing trade barriers and administrative interventions and deepening reforms of its foreign trade system, the paper said.

The white paper also introduces China's historic progress, international contribution and policies in foreign trade.

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2011)