In the first quarter of the current year, China's total foreign trade value amounted to RMB 5.9 trillion ($962.5 billion), indicating a year-on-year decline of 3.7 percent, according to the Chinese customs authorities. In the given period, the total value of China's exports amounted to RMB 3 trillion ($489.4 billion), down 6.1 percent, while Chinese imports totaled RMB 2.9 trillion ($473.1 billion) in value, down 1.2 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of RMB 102.83 billion ($16.77 billion), down 60.9 percent, all on year-on-year basis.
In March alone, China's foreign trade value amounted to RMB 2.03 trillion ($331.2 billion), down 11.5 percent, with a total export value of RMB 1.04 trillion ($169.7 billion), decreasing by 9.2 percent, and a total import value of RMB 0.99 trillion ($161.5 billion), down 13.8 percent, all year on year. The trade surplus for the month in question was RMB 46.86 billion ($7.64 billion), compared to a trade surplus of RMB 6.71 billion ($1.1 billion) in March 2013.