China’s export rose by 2.1 percent year-on-year to 1.17 trillion yuan ($188.5 billion) in June, a better-than-expected increase after the 6.2 percent decline in April, according to data from Customs released on July 13.

However, the import figure fell by 6.7 percent to 890.67 billion yuan last month, leading to an accelerated growth of monthly trade surplus to 45 percent year-on-year.

In the first six months, the country’s total foreign trade value was 11.53 trillion yuan, down by 6.9 percent from a year earlier. Exports increased by 0.9 percent to 6.57 trillion yuan while imports decreased by 15.5 percent to 4.96 trillion yuan.

Trade surplus in the first half rose by 1.5 times from a year earlier to 1.61 trillion yuan, the data revealed.

The structure of trade modes continued to improve when exports of general trade showed marked growth, and strong momentum was spotted in exports to emerging markets and some countries along the “Belt and Road”, said Huang Songping, a spokesman with the General Administration of Customs, at a press conference.

China’s bilateral trade with the European Union declined by 6.8 percent during the January-to-June period to 1.67 trillion yuan and trade with Japan fell by 10.6 percent to 832.02 billion yuan, said Hong.

“The Greek debt crisis is likely to influence China’s export, but it is difficult to predict the exact effects,” added Huang.