China's July Exports Up 2.9%, Imports Down 5.7%

China's exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 2.9% year on year in July, while imports fell 5.7%, customs data showed Monday. 
This led to a monthly trade surplus of 342.8 billion yuan about (51.5 billion US dollars), up 34% from one year earlier, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs (GAC). 
Foreign trade in the first seven months was 3% lower than a year before, with exports down 1.6% and imports down 4.8%, according to China's (Xinhua) News Agency. 
Trade surplus for the first seven months widened 8.7% from one year earlier to 1.99 trillion yuan. 
Foreign trade with the European Union, China's biggest trade partner, climbed 1.8% year on year in the first seven months, GAC data showed. 
In the same period, foreign trade with the United States, China's second-biggest trade partner, fell 4.8% and that with the ASEAN, its third-largest trade partner, declined 2.2%.