BEIJING — China's total imports and exports expanded 7.9 percent year-on-year to 12.58 trillion yuan in the first four months of 2022, official data showed on May 9.

In US dollar terms, total foreign trade came in at $1.98 trillion in the period, up 10.1 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports grew 10.3 percent year-on-year to 6.97 trillion yuan, while imports rose 5 percent to 5.61 trillion yuan in the January-April period, leading to a trade surplus of 1.36 trillion yuan, the data showed.

China's trade with its top three trading partners — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and the United States — maintained growth momentum.

During the period, the growth rates of China's trade value with these three trading partners stood at 7.2 percent, 6.8 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, customs data showed.

Private enterprises saw a fast growth rate as imports and exports increased by 11 percent to 6.1 trillion yuan in the first four months, accounting for 48.5 percent of the country's total.

The imports and exports of foreign-invested firms and that of State-owned enterprises rose 2.2 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively, in the period.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products expanded by 6.7 percent to account for 57.9 percent of the total, while exports of labor-intensive products increased 9.2 percent in the first four months, GAC data showed.

In April alone, the country's foreign trade volume edged up 0.1 percent year-on-year to 3.16 trillion yuan, with the exports up 1.9 percent year-on-year while imports dropping by 2 percent from a year ago.