China foreign trade decline narrows in September

BEIJING, Oct. 13 -- China's foreign trade dropped 8.8 percent year on year to 2.22 trillion yuan (about 352 billion U.S. dollars) in September, less severe than the 9.7-percent contraction in August, official data showed on Tuesday.

Exports dropped 1.1 percent to 1.3 trillion yuan and imports decreased 17.7 percent to 924 billion yuan. The trade surplus totaled 376.2 billion yuan, up 96.1 percent, the General Administration of Customs said.

For the first three quarters, foreign trade dropped 7.9 percent year on year to 17.87 trillion yuan with exports down 1.8 percent to 10.24 trillion yuan and imports down 15.1 percent to 7.63 trillion yuan. Trade surplus surged by 82.1 percent to 2.61 trillion yuan.