China's foreign trade up 8.7% in January

China's goods trade rose 8.7 percent year-on-year in January to 2.73 trillion yuan ($395.98 billion), customs data showed Thursday.

Exports rose 13.9 percent year-on-year to 1.5 trillion yuan last month, while imports grew 2.9 percent to 1.23 trillion yuan, the General Administration of Customs said.

Exports and imports of products under the general trade category rose 13 percent year-on-year to 1.66 trillion yuan, accounting for 60.9 percent of the total foreign trade, 2.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

China's trade with the European Union, the ASEAN countries, and Japan increased 17.6 percent, 7.8 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, while trade with countries along the Belt and Road registered faster-than-average growth, with the combined trade volume standing at 770.8 billion yuan, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.

Exports to the United States added 1.9 percent, while imports tumbled 38.6 percent, the data showed.

Private enterprises played a bigger role, accounting for 42.3 percent of the total foreign trade, up 3 percentage points year-on-year.