China's foreign trade up 8.8 pct in first five months

BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- China's goods trade rose 8.8 percent year on year to 11.63 trillion yuan (about 1.82 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first five months, customs data showed Friday.

Exports rose 5.5 percent year on year to 6.14 trillion yuan in the January-May period while imports grew 12.6 percent to 5.49 trillion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 649.8 billion yuan, which narrowed by 31 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.