China 2013 trade surplus up 12.8% to $259.75bn

China's annual trade surplus reached $259.75 billion in 2013, up 12.8 percent from the previous year, official data showed Friday. Exports from the world's second-largest economy rose 7.9 percent to $2.21 trillion, while imports increased 7.3 percent to $1.95 trillion, the General Administration of Customs announced. The country's total trade in goods for last year came to $4.16 trillion, an increase of 7.6 percent, just below the government’s target of eight percent. The European Union was China's biggest trading partner, Customs said, followed by the United States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Hong Kong and Japan. Between them the traditional markets of the EU, US and Japan accounted for 33.5 percent of China's trade, down 1.7 percentage points, indicating that emerging markets' share of business was growing. For the month of December alone, China's trade surplus fell 17.4 percent to $25.64 billion, Customs said. Exports increased 4.3 percent to $207.74 billion, while imports were up 8.3 percent at $182.1 billion.