Snapping several months of downturn, China’s foreign trade rose 14.1 per cent to $343.58 billion in May.
Exports climbed 15.3 per cent to $181.14 billion and imports rose 12.7 per cent to $162.44 billion year-on-year, bringing cheers to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce which was forecasting a grim scenario of foreign trade for a while due to sovereign debt crisis in EU and slow recovery of US economy, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Xinhua.
In May, the trade surplus hit $18.7 billion, slightly higher than the $18.42 billion seen in April, GAC said.
For the first five months of the year, foreign trade rose 7.7 per cent year on year to $1.51 trillion.
China saw a trade surplus of $37.91 billion during the January-May period, it said.
The Government has targeted an annual rise of around 10 per cent in foreign trade this year. Foreign trade grew 22.5 per cent in the previous year.
The European Union remained China’s largest trading partner in the first five months despite the lingering debt crisis. Bilateral trade growth rebounded slightly, up 1.3 per cent to $220.82 billion.
During the period, China’s trade with the US, its second-largest trade partner reached $190 billion, up 12 per cent.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held its position as China’s third-largest trade partner, with China-ASEAN trade amounting to $153.74 billion, higher by 9.2 per cent.