Trade surplus in goods hits record high

China's trade surplus in goods surged by 36 percent year-on-year to $320.7 billion in the first half of the year, the highest reading on record for the same period, official data showed on Friday.

The nation's resilient trade surplus in goods has underpinned the current account surplus of $169.1 billion in the first six months of the year, which accounted for 1.9 percent of the country's GDP during the period, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.

With current account surplus in a reasonable range and foreign direct investment inflows remaining relatively fast, China's international payments continued to be generally balanced in the first half, said Wang Chunying, deputy head of SAFE.

The country's foreign direct investment recorded a surplus of $74.9 billion in the first six months, the administration said. During the same period, the nation's trade-in services recorded a deficit of $37.8 billion, down 30 percent from a year earlier.