SYDNEY, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed more action to boost imports Thursday, telling a business audience in Sydney that Beijing did not want to run a large trade surplus.

His comments came a day after US President George W. Bush urged China to transform itself into a 'consuming society' that would buy more American goods, in turn shrinking the yawning trade gap.

'China does not seek a large trade surplus,' Hu said in Sydney ahead of a weekend summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

OTTAWA, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) - Canada's finance ministry on Friday announced that the federal budget surplus for fiscal year 2007-2008 is larger than expected given the country's strong economic growth.

'The budgetary surplus for 2007-08 is now expected to come in higher than the budget 2007 projection of 3 billion (Canadian) dollars (2.9 billion US dollars),' the ministry said in its quarterly financial review.

The fiscal year runs from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.