BEIJING, June 9 -- China's trade with African countries hit a record high in the first five months of this year, official data showed Monday.

The China-Africa trade volume increased 12.4 percent year on year in the January-May period to 963.21 billion yuan (about 134 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 5.4 percent of the country's total foreign trade, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China's exports to Africa rose 20.2 percent from a year ago to 599.57 billion yuan in the first five months, while its imports gained 1.6 percent to 363.64 billion yuan.