BEIJING -- China's trade surplus in June hit a new high of US$26.91 billion, up 85.5 percent on the same month last year, the General Administration of Customs said on Tuesday.

The aggregate surplus for the first half of the year jumped 83 percent to US$112.5 billion, it said.

Imports rose 14.2 percent to US$76.36 billion in June but exports grew 27.1 percent to US$103.27 billion. The growth rate in June's exports was 1.6 percentage points lower than that in May.

China's foreign trade volume for the first half year totaled US$980.93 billion, up 23.3 percent.

The administration predicted that the figure would grow by 20 percent to two trillion US dollars this year, with the country's trade surplus reaching US$200 billion.

Huang Guohua, senior analyst with the administration, said China's trade surplus rose to a new high in June because domestic companies, whose export tax rebates were cut on July 1, were rushing exports out its doors.

The Chinese government announced on June 19 it would cut or eliminate export tax rebates for 2,831 commodities from July 1 in an attempt to "suppress overheated export growth and ease frictions between China and its trade partners".

To narrow its yawning trade surplus, the Chinese government has been encouraging companies to curb exports of products that consume vast amounts of energy and cause serious pollution during their production processes, and expand imports of high-tech goods.

In the first six months, the European Union remained China's top trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching US$158.4 billion, up 27 percent over the same period of last year. The United States was second with a trade volume of US$140.55 billion.