China's foreign trade surges

China's foreign trade surged 26.7 percent year on year in January to 2.17 trillion yuan (345.59 billion U.S. dollars), the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Friday. The rise was bigger than the 10.2-percent growth seen in December. Exports rose 25 percent from one year earlier to 1.18 trillion yuan in January, and imports increased 28.8 percent to 990 billion yuan. The country's foreign trade surplus widened 7.7 percent to 183.21 billion yuan last month. After adjustments to seasonal factors, foreign trade volume increased 8.1 percent year on year. There were 22 working days in January, 5 days longer than last year, GAC said. China's foreign trade with the European Union rose 10.5 percent year on year last month to stand at 47.14 billion U.S. dollars, and trade with the U.S. increased 23.4 percent to 43.72 billion U.S. dollars. Trade with the ASEAN grew 42.9 percent to reach 36.99 billion U.S. dollars. Trade between China's mainland and Hong Kong surged 83 percent to 33.4 billion US dollars.