BEIJING — China’s foreign trade surplus widened to 3.69 trillion yuan ($ 562 billion) in 2015, an increase of 56.7 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed on Jan 13.

Exports fell 1.8 percent year-on-year to 14.14 trillion yuan in 2015, while imports declined 13.2 percent to 10.45 trillion yuan in 2015, according to the General Administration of Customs data.

Last year, the country’s total export and import values decreased 7 percent year-on-year to 24.59 trillion yuan.

In addition, China’s monthly trade surplus widened to 382.1 billion yuan in December from 343.1 billion yuan in November.

China’s exports in yuan terms climbed 2.3 percent year-on-year in December, compared with November’s 3.7-percent drop, while imports declined 4 percent, an improvement over the previous month’s 5.6-percent fall.