CHINA'S CURRENCY CHIEF FEELS THE HEAT AS US TRADE GAP WIDENS

Guo Shuqing, deputy governor of the People s Bank of China, says that a huge balance-of-payments surplus is not a goal that China has pursued. However, it is something that China has achieved, at least

The US trade gap with China hit a record $16.8 billion in October, as US retailers like Wal-Mart and Kmart stocked their shelves for Christmas with cheap labor-intensive goods such as toys and shoes "Made in China." US imports from China for the month (the latest data available) rose to a record $19.7 billion. That helped push the overall US trade deficit to a record $55.5 billion in October and a record $500.5 billion for 2004, with two months still to go.

The news could not have been particularly welcome to Guo, China's point man on the yuan in his role as director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. US and European exporters blame the low value of the yuan, which is pegged to the dollar, for keeping Chinas goods unfairly cheap.