Exports climbed 15.3 per cent to USD 181.14 billion and imports rose 12.7 per cent to USD 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 USD 18.7 billion, slightly higher than the USD 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 USD 1.51 trillion.
China saw a trade surplus of USD 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 USD 220.82 billion.
During the period, China's trade with the US, its second- largest trade partner reached USD 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 USD 153.74 billion, higher by 9.2 per cent.
