(Yicai) March 7 -- China's international trade was stable overall in the first two months of this year, the customs authority said, despite a drop in imports and concerns over higher US tariffs.

The total value of the goods China traded was CNY6.54 trillion (USD904.3 billion) in January and February, a 1.2 percent decline from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs announced today.

The first two months of this year had two working days less than the comparable period of last year, the bureau noted.

Exports rose 3.4 percent to CNY3.88 trillion, while imports fell 7.3 percent to CNY2.66 trillion. Excluding the impact of non-comparable factors, imports and exports grew 1.7 percent.

In US dollar terms, overall trade amounted to USD909.37 billion, down 2.4 percent. Exports came to USD539.94 billion, up 2.3 percent, while imports totaled USD369.43 billion, down 8.4 percent.

Private companies accounted for CNY3.69 trillion of foreign trade, up 2 percent. This represented 56.4 percent of China's total trade, an increase of 1.8 percentage point from a year ago. Exports by private firms rose 1.6 percent to CNY2.5 trillion, while their imports gained 2.7 percent to CNY1.19 trillion. 

Foreign-invested businesses had imports and exports totaling CNY1.91 trillion, down 0.3 percent and accounting for 29.2 percent of the total.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations became China's largest trading partner in the period at CNY1.03 trillion, a 4 percent jump, to account for 15.8 percent of China’s total foreign trade.

The European Union came in second at CNY833.34 billion, a 0.2 percent dip, to make up 12.7 percent of the total, while the United States was third at CNY733.67 billion, up 3.5 percent, to make up 11.2 percent of the total.

Editor: Tom Litting