China's trade surplus narrows on slower exports

China's trade surplus fell to USD 15.25 billion in February from a USD 29.15 billion excess in January, but exports performed better than expected, government data showed Friday. Exports jumped 21.8 percent year-on-year to USD 139.37 billion in February, but down from January's 25.0 percent expansion, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs. Imports fell 15.2 percent to USD 124.12 billion, compared with an increase of 28.8 percent in January. In the January-February period, China's trade with the European Union (EU), the nation's largest trading partner, grew 3.2 percent year on year, while that with the US, the country's second-largest partner, gained 14.8 percent from a year ago. But trade with Japan declined 8.2 percent. Experts said the world's second-largest economy's foreign trade is showing stronger signs of recovery, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. Wang Jun, an economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, attributed the better-than-expected exports to the steady recovery of the Chinese, US and emerging economies. China's economic growth eased further to a 13-year low of 7.8 percent in 2012 from 9.3 percent in 2011. The government is targeting economic growth of 7.5 percent this year to leave room for economic restructuring. It also hopes to increase its total foreign trade volume by around 8 percent amid a slow global economic recovery and rising trade protectionism.