EUROPE'S trade deficit with China widened to a record.

The trade deficit with China grew 21 percent in the eight months through August to 55.1 billion euros (US$70.4 billion), the European Union's statistics office said yesterday. Asia's second-largest economy is poised to overtake the US this year as the second-biggest source of imports to the euro area, behind the UK. The trade gap with Japan widened 17 percent to 14.4 billion euros. Imports from China to the dozen euro nations rose to 88.3 billion euros in the first eight months of the year, up 21 percent from the year-earlier period, the Luxembourg-based statistics office said.