BEIJING — China’s trade with Africa saw a mild increase in the first five months this year, official data showed.

China-Africa trade volume stood at $84.76 billion during the period, up 3 percent year-on-year, as compared with a drop of 1.6 percent in China’s overall foreign trade in US dollar terms during the period, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

In breakdown, China’s exports rose 6.3 percent year-on-year to hit $43.57 billion from January to May, while imports from Africa declined 0.3 percent to $41.19 billion, leading to a surplus of $2.38 billion.

In May, China-Africa trade expanded 1.7 percent to $18.67 billion, with China seeing a surplus of $1.89 billion, said the GAC.

China’s exports in the month stood at $10.28 billion, up 8.7 percent year-on-year while the imports totaled $8.39 billion, down 6 percent than a year earlier.

In 2018, China-Africa trade reached $204.2 billion, up 20 percent year-on-year, and China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 10 straight years.