(Yicai Global) May 9 -- The value of China's trade with the rest of the world rose 5.8 percent in the first four months of the year from a year earlier, expanding on a 4.8 percent gain in the first quarter, according to the latest data.

China shipped CNY13.32 trillion (USD1.92 trillion) of goods in and out in the four months ended April 30, the General Administration of Customs said yesterday. Exports jumped 10.6 percent to CNY7.67 trillion and imports were almost unchanged at CNY5.65 trillion, while the trade surplus surged 57 percent to CNY2.02 trillion (USD291.6 billion).

Exports grew stronger than predicted, while import gains were weaker than forecast, Shao Yu, chief economist at Orient Securities, told Yicai Global. The country’s exports held up, whereas the market had expected the global economic downturn to weigh on them, he said, adding that the follow-up trend remains to be seen.

General trade accounted for a bigger slice of the total, with imports and exports rising 8.5 percent to CNY8.72 trillion in the first four months, accounting for 65.4 percent of the total, up 1.6 point from the same period last year.

Trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union increased, while that with the United States fell. ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with the amount jumping 13.9 percent to CNY2.09 trillion, equal to 15.7 percent of China's total international trade. 

Increasing trade with ASEAN will further stabilize the foreign trade structure, Shao noted.

China’s trade with the EU, its second-biggest trading partner, rose 4.2 percent to CNY1.8 trillion in the first four months from a year earlier, making up 13.5 percent of the Asian country's total. The US ranked third, with trade between the two nations falling 4.2 percent to CNY1.5 trillion, equal to 11.2 percent of China's total.

Editor: Martin Kadiev