China's foreign trade of goods up 10.4% in first 7 months

BEIJING -- China's foreign trade of goods jumped 10.4 percent year-on-year to 23.6 trillion yuan (about $3.5 trillion) during the first seven months of the year, official data showed Sunday.

Exports rose 14.7 percent year-on-year to 13.37 trillion yuan, while imports increased 5.3 percent from a year ago to 10.23 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

During the period, China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and the United States, expanded by 13.2 percent, 8.9 percent and 11.8 percent from a year ago, respectively.

From January to July, China's trade with Belt and Road countries and other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) soared by 19.8 percent and 7.5 percent year-on-year.

In July, trade with RCEP partners reached 1.17 trillion yuan, up 18.8 percent year-on-year, boosting the overall foreign trade growth by 5.6 percentage points, said Li Kuiwen, spokesperson for the GAC.