Commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian stated that China’s trade surplus will fall steeply as the renminbi rises against foreign currencies, reported state media. Surpluses narrowed in the first quarter of 2010, with China declaring a US$7.24 billion trade deficit in March. China’s trade surplus in April decreased 87 per cent from a year earlier, and the national surplus could nearly halve this year. China’s largest trading partner for the first quarter was the European Union, with trade with the United States and Japan outpacing trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations. China’s trade deficit with Japan over this period doubled to US$17.72 billion, while its deficit with ASEAN amounted to US$5.87 billion.