Exports jumped 28.1 per cent to $120.49 billion and imports shot up by 40 per cent to $100.29 billion, the customs figures showed.
The export growth rate was 6 percentage points lower but the import rate 20.9 per cent higher.
China said recently that the US economic slowdown and the rising value of its currency, Yuan, were likely to lead to shrinking trade surplus.
Prior to the current trend, China's major trade partners had been complaining that Beijing was keeping the value of its currency artificially low to give an unfair advantage to its exporters.
The Yuan has however been appreciating in recent months.
China's total trade volume in the first five months was reported at $1,012.08 billion, a 26.2 per cent rise over the same period a year ago.
