China's trade fell 9 percent from a year earlier in March with both exports and imports plunging, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday morning.
China's exports dropped 6.6 percent last month to US$170.1 billion, although it narrowed from an 18.1 percent decline in February.
Imports surprisingly contracted 11.3 percent to US$162.4 billion in March, a sharp contrast from the 10.1 percent increase the previous month.
The trade surplus was US$7.7 billion in March, compared with a US$960 million trade deficit in the same period of last year.
In the first quarter, China's trade edged down 1 percent year on year to US$965.8 billion. Exports decreased 3.4 percent while imports rose 1.6 percent.
The trade surplus was US$16.7 billion in the first three months, down 59.7 percent from a year earlier.
China's shipments with the European Union, the country's largest trading partner, expanded 6.5 percent to 835.7 billion yuan (US$135.8 billion) in the January-March period, while trade with the United States climbed 0.9 percent to 749.2 billion yuan.
Trade between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong plunged 33.3 percent year on year to 460.3 billion yuan in the first quarter.
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