China's exports up 7.6 pct in May

TOKYO, June 7 (KUNA) -- China's exports grew 7.6 percent in May from a year earlier in US dollar terms to USD 302.35 billion rising as government data showed Friday.
The exports expanded for the second straight month and marked the sharpest increase since April 2023, according to the General Administration of Customs. Imports by the world's second-largest economy also rose 1.8 percent to USD 219.73 billion, up for the second month. As a result, the monthly trade surplus stood at USD 82.62 billion.
The data also showed that the country's crude oil imports edged down 1.9 percent year-on-year to USD 29.72 billion. China is the world's largest importer of crude oil. Exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China's largest trade partner, surged 17.8 percent in May, while imports to the ASEAN increased 15.4 percent from the year before. In the first five months of this year, exports gained 2.7 percent from the same period of last year and imports 2.9 percent, respectively.
"China's economy has been continuously improving since the beginning of the year, with a sustained recovery and positive momentum in foreign trade," director of the bureau's Department of Statistics and Analysis Lyu Daliang said Friday in Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. "Boosted by exports of high-end, intelligent, and environmentally friendly products, as well as the steady expansion of imports, the monthly foreign trade growth rate has further accelerated," Lyu said. (end) mk.hb