China s September exports up 25.1%, imports rise 24.1%

China s exports rose 25.1% in September from a year earlier to 144.99 billion U.S. dollars, but the pace of growth slowed from August's 34.4% surge. The country s imports rose 24.1% year on year to reach 128.11 billion U.S. dollars last month, with the growth rate down 11.1 percentage points from that in August, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

China s foreign trade in the first nine months totaled 2.15 trillion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 37.9%, and trade surplus for the first nine months totaled 120.6 billion U.S. dollars, down 10.5% from the same period last year, the GAC said.

Trade with the European Union, China s largest trade partner, jumped 34.4% year on year to 349.49 billion U.S. dollars in the January-September period. Trade with the United States climbed 31.5% to 278.54 billion U.S. dollars during the period, while that with Japan rose 32.2% to hit 214.46 billion U.S. dollars. Trade with ASEAN countries surged 43.7% year on year to 211.31 billion U.S. dollars in the first three quarters, the GAC released.