The total value, in yuan terms, of China's imports and exports in the first five months of 2018 rose 8.8% year over year to 11.63 trillion yuan, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Exports climbed 5.5% year over year to 6.14 trillion yuan, while imports grew 12.6% to 5.49 trillion yuan, yielding a trade surplus that narrowed 31% to 649.81 billion yuan.
In monthly terms, the total value of China's imports and exports in May rose 8.6% year over year to 2.53 trillion yuan. Exports climbed an annual 3.2% to 1.34 trillion yuan, while imports jumped 15.6% to 1.19 trillion yuan, yielding a trade surplus that narrowed 43.1% to 156.51 billion yuan.
The total value of China-U.S. trade in the first five months went up by an annual 5.3% to 1.57 trillion yuan, accounting for 13.5% of the total value of China's imports and exports.
China's exports to the U.S. in the January-May period totaled 1.124 trillion yuan, while imports reached 450.67 billion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 673.34 billion yuan. This represents a 153.94 billion yuan increase in China's trade surplus with the U.S. compared with the January-April period in 2018.
As of June 7, US$1 was equivalent to 6.39 Chinese yuan.
