China's foreign trade up 4.2pc in first seven months

China's foreign trade of goods rose 4.2 per cent year on year in the first seven months of this year to 17.41 trillion yuan (about 2.49 trillion U.S. dollars), customs data showed Thursday.

Exports increased 6.7 per cent year on year to 9.48 trillion yuan during the period, while imports grew 1.3 per cent to 7.93 trillion yuan, the General Administration of Customs said.

China saw its trade surplus widen by 47.4 per cent year on year to 1.55 trillion yuan during the same period.