Beijing ? China’s trade surplus surged to $101.9 billion in 2005, more than triple the $32 billion gap recorded the year before, according to customs figures released Wednesday.

Exports rose 28.4 percent year-on-year in 2005 to $762 billion, while imports rose 17.6 percent to $660 billion, the General Administration of Customs reported.

With total global trade of $1.42 trillion, China is now the world’s third-biggest trading nation, the report said.