JAPAN’S trade surplus hit a multi-year high in February, government data showed yesterday, as exports to China rebounded after a Lunar New Year lull. The value of Japan’s total shipments abroad rose 11.3 percent, the most in two years, on strong demand for vehicle components and electronic parts, while imports grew 1.2 percent. That resulted in a trade surplus of 813.4 billion yen (US$7.3 billion), reversing a January deficit and more than tripling the 235.5 billion yen surplus a year ago. The latest figures marked Japan’s highest monthly trade surplus in nearly seven years. The export surge was largely due to the Chinese New Year falling earlier than usual this year, resulting in a February rebound. Japan’s exports to China tend to fall during the holiday as many businesses close. Exports to China soared 28.2 percent from the same month a year ago, creating Japan’s first trade surplus with China in five years. Japan also posted its first trade surplus with the United States in three months in February. Japan’s exports to the United States, a key market for Japanese products, rose 0.4 percent in February from a year ago, due to shipments of cars and auto parts. Japan’s trade surplus with the United States rose an annual 1.5 percent to 611.3 billion yen, posting the first increase in three months after a revised 26.5 percent drop in January. The figures come at a sensitive time for Japan-U.S. trade relations. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Japan of devaluing the yen to boost exports, grouping it with other countries he says are taking “advantage” of the United States. Japan and the United States will start a high-level economic dialogue in mid-April, with Tokyo seeking ways to avoid trade friction on issues such as car exports by proposing an agenda focussed on investment in U.S. infrastructure. Takuji Okubo, chief economist and principal at Japan Macro Advisors, said Trump’s talk was unlikely to translate into measures that would seriously hurt Japan-U.S. trade.(SD-Agencies) | 