The growth of China exports to the United States, the country's second biggest trading partner, slowed in the first half, the General Administration of Customs said on its website on Thursday.

China exports stateside in the first six months totaled US$116.79 billion, up 8.9 percent from the same period last year. The growth rate was 9 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

China Customs said the slowdown in the wake of the economic crisis sparked by the US subprime mortgage disaster had played a negative part. A stronger Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB), also contributed to the declining export volume.

The central parity rate of the RMB was 6.86 yuan to one dollar on Thursday. The RMB had appreciated more than 20 percent against the greenback since July 2005 when China lifted its official peg on the yuan to the US dollar.

The appreciation had made the country's goods more expensive in world market, and had slackened Chinese products' competitiveness, China Customs said.

China's processing trade industry saw its US exports stand at US$70.68 billion in the first half, up 5.7 percent over the same period last year. The growth rate was 3.2 percentage points lower year on year.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products, two of the country's major exports to the United States, hit US$71.9 billion, up 8.6 percent over the same period last year. The growth rate declined 8.4 percentage points year on year.

China's export volume stood at US$666.25 billion in the first half, representing an increase of 21.8 percent over the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)