Aerial view of Shanghai Port in Baoshan district, Shanghai Photo: VCG

China’s foreign trade has seen very positive growth in the first eight months of the year, with total goods imports and exports reaching 34.78 trillion yuan ($5.18 trillion), up 17.6 percent year-on-year, 0.3 percentage points faster than in the first seven months, official customs data released on Tuesday showed.

Exports reached 20.17 trillion yuan, up 14.6 percent year-on-year, while imports stood at 14.61 trillion yuan, rising 22 percent.

In August alone, China’s goods trade rose 19.8 percent year-on-year to reach 4.65 trillion yuan. Exports grew 18.6 percent and imports climbed 21.7 percent, marking the fourth consecutive month in which both posted double-digit growth. The year-on-year growth rate of imports has outpaced that of exports for six consecutive months.

Global Times