BEIJING, Jan 14 — China's trade surplus with the United States rose to US$323.32 billion (RM1.323 trillion) last year, the highest on record going back to 2006, Reuters calculations based on customs data showed today.

That compared with about US$275.81 billion in 2017.

China's exports to the United States rose 11.3 per cent last year, while imports from the US only increased 0.7 per cent.

China's large trade surplus with the United States has long been a sore point with Washington, and is at the centre of a bitter dispute between the world's biggest economies.

The two countries have hit each other with tit-for-tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars. — Reuters