(Yicai Global) June 7 -- China’s trade surplus shrank 16.1 percent in May from the same period last year to USD65.8 billion, with a bigger drop in exports than in imports, according to the latest data.

Exports slumped 7.5 percent last month from a year earlier to USD283.5 billion, while imports fell 4.5 percent to USD217.7 billion, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs today. The total value of China’s imports and exports sank 6.2 percent over the period to USD501.2 billion.

In the first five months, the value of China’s international trade dipped 2.8 percent year on year to USD2.4 trillion. Exports inched up 0.3 percent to USD1.4 trillion while imports slid 6.7 percent to USD1 trillion.

China’s trade with the EU, the US and Japan all declined in May, but trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Latin America and Africa climbed. ASEAN remained China’s top foreign trade destination, with the value of imports and exports gaining 2.1 percent last month from a year earlier to USD72.6 billion. Exports to the region jumped 8.1 percent to USD31.1 billion.

The value of trade between China and the EU dipped 2.7 percent to USD69.2 billion, while that between China and the US plunged 12.3 percent to USD56.8 billion. China’s exports to the US dived 15.1 percent to USD42.5 billion and imports dropped 3.6 percent to USD14.3 billion. Most notably, imports from South Korea plummeted 26.7 percent to USD12.8 billion.

China exported 438,000 vehicles last month. Vehicle exports in the first five months surged 80 percent year on year to 1.9 million units and the export value more than doubled to USD38.7 billion.

The import value of mechanical and electrical products from January to May plunged 19.2 percent on a yearly basis to USD353.2 billion, of which chip imports sank 24.2 percent, car imports dived 28 percent and car parts imports plunged 23.3 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor