China announced a sharp rise in its trade surplus today, only weeks before Wu Yi, the Vice-Premier, is scheduled to hold talks with Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, aimed at addressing concerns that Beijing is keeping its currency undervalued.

The Chinese Government said today that the trade surplus, where a country exports more than it imports, rose to $16.9 billion (£8.5 billion) in April, more than double the $6.9 billion figure reported in March and a 63 per cent rise on the previous year.

Exports jumped 26.8 per cent and imports climbed 21.3 per cent, the General Administration of Customs said on its website.

The surplus in the first four months of the year totalled $63.31 billion, 88 per cent more than in the same period last year.

For all of 2006, China’s surplus soared 74 per cent to $177.47 billion, with estimates for the full year in 2007already ranging from $220 billion to $250 billion.

The yuan climbed on Friday to its highest level since Beijing abandoned a peg to the dollar in July 2005 and allowed the currency to float within managed bands.

It is now worth 7.6830 a dollar and has gained a further 5.6 per cent since it was revalued by 2.1 per cent at the time it was depegged.

US lawmakers, manufacturers and Mr Paulson have all expressed frustration that China is not allowing the yuan to climb faster.

They say that the yuan would be much stronger if it were exposed to market forces, given China’s strong productivity gains, record foreign currency reserves of $1.2 trillion and a current-account surplus that reached 9.5 per cent of national income.

Chinese and US trade envoys are scheduled to meet in Washington on May 23 and 24 for talks on Beijing's surpluses, currency controls, product piracy and other contentious issues.

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