China's aggregate trade surplus was expected to surge 42.8 percent from the end of last year to 254.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2007 although exports might grow less rapidly, a forecasting agency of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has predicted.

The year's total exports were projected at 1.20 trillion U.S. dollars, up 23.7 percent year-on-year, compared with a rise of 27.2 percent last year. Total imports were estimated around 946 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.5 percent from the previous year, said a CAS report.

The surplus against the United States would rose by 23.5 percent to 178.2 billion U.S. dollars, with exports hitting 263.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 29.8 percent year-on-year.

The European Union would remain to be the largest trade partner of China, recording imports of 239.3 billion U.S. dollars from China and exports of 111 billion U.S. dollars.

The report released by the CAS's Center for Forecasting Sciences said that China would export 29.2 percent more new high-tech products worth 363.6 billion U.S. dollars in total and import 20 percent more worth 296.7 billion U.S. dollars.

It also predicted a slowdown in clothing, textile and shoe exports with their annual growth rates ranging from 13.3 to 15.8 percent.

Crude oil imports would grow by a slower 4.8 percent to 69.6 billion U.S. dollars.

The import of refined oil products would edge up only by 4.8 percent to 69.6 billion U.S. dollars while that of iron ore would surge by 47 percent to 30.75 billion U.S. dollars, the report said.