BEIJING — China said on April 13 that it has never sought trade surplus.

A trade imbalance is a market phenomenon determined by the economic structure and industrial competitiveness of the countries involved, said Huang Songping, a spokesman of the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

“China’s trade surplus with the United States is not as big as it looks if we take into account factors such as statistical approaches, entrepôt trade and service trade,” Huang said at a news conference.

“We expect the United States to listen with patience to rational, pragmatic views on the deficit, and to suggest remedies to the imbalances to ensure long-term, steady development of economic and trade ties between the two countries,” he added.

From January to March, trade between China and the United States rose 13 percent in dollar-denominated terms, with Chinese exports to the United States increased 14.8 percent and the China-US trade surplus standing at $58.25 billion, GAC data showed.