China has overtaken the US as the world's largest exporter of a broad category of electronic goods including computers, mobile phones and digital cameras, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said yesterday.

The report by the OECD marks a milestone in China's diversification from low-tech textile to sophisticated electronics manufacturing.

The value of Chinese exports in information and communication technology (ICT) goods rose by 46 percent year on year to US$180 billion in 2004, outstripping US exports valued at US$149 billion.

China's positive trade balance in tech products almost tripled to US$31 billion last year from US$12 billion in 2003. The country first became a net exporter of such goods just a year before that, recording a 2002 surplus of US$3 billion.

Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, the report's author, said it highlighted China's steady rise up the value chain, from televisions, stereos and other low-margin electronic goods to expensive hi-tech equipment.

China's booming trade surplus in PCs and laptops stood at US$45.4 billion last year, the new data showed, and its overall trade in ICT goods has grown an average 38 percent per year since 1996. China also overtook Japan as the main exporter of such goods to the US last year.

China still depends heavily on imports for microchips and circuit-board components it needs to feed its booming hardware manufacturing industry, the OECD report said. China's overall trade deficit in components swelled to nearly US$62 billion last year.

The OECD groups 30 member countries sharing a commitment to democratic government and the market economy. With active relationships with some 70 other countries, non-governmental organizations and civil society, it has a global reach. Best known for its publications and its statistics, its work covers economic and social issues including macroeconomics, trade, education, development, and science and innovation.

(Shenzhen Daily December 14, 2005)