China recorded a trade deficit of $31.48 billion in February, the first time in a year, as import growth far outpaced exports in view of economic downturn in the European Union and slow recovery in the US.

Exports rose 18.4 per cent from a year earlier to $114.47 billion in February, while imports went up 39.6 per cent to $145.96 billion, according to the Customs data released here today.

The fast trade expansion was fuelled by the lower comparative base for last February, when the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday cut working days from the month and skewed trade data, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

The week-long holiday fell in January this year.

After seasonal adjustments, the annual growth of exports slowed to four per cent last month while that of imports was cut down to 9.4 per cent. Exports this January fell 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, the worst show in more than two years. Imports fell even more sharply, plunging 15.3 per cent.

The country’s foreign trade rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year to $533.03 billion in the first two months, with a combined trade deficit of $4.25 billion, the GAC said.

China’s trade with the European Union, its largest trade partner, grew 4.7 per cent year-on-year in the January-February period to $79.8 billion. However, China’s sales to the euro zone slid to 1.1 per cent in the first two months year-on-year.

In February, the United States, the country’s second-largest trade partner, replaced the EU as China’s largest export market, as monthly sales to the US outnumbered that of the EU. China’s trade with the US gained 9.2 per cent year-on-year to $66.05 billion, state-run Xinhua reported.

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