China's foreign trade of goods rose 4.2 percent year on year in the first seven months of 2019 to 17.41 trillion yuan (about 2.47 trillion U.S. dollars), customs data showed on Thursday.

Exports increased 6.7 percent year on year to 9.48 trillion yuan during the same period, while imports grew 1.3 percent to 7.93 trillion yuan, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

That left the country with a trade surplus of 1.55 trillion yuan, a 47.4 percent year-on-year increase during the January-July period.

July trade rose 5.7 percent to 2.74 trillion yuan. Exports grew 10.3 percent, reaching 1.53 trillion yuan, while imports edged 0.4 percent at 1.21 trillion yuan, GAC data showed.

EU, ASEAN, and the U.S. were the top trade partners of China in the first seven months, according to GAC, accounting for 15.6 percent, 13.5 percent and 12 percent of China's total trade volume, respectively.

The EU was China's largest trading partner over that period, with trade volume up 10.8 percent from a year earlier to 2.72 trillion yuan, followed by the ASEAN, up 11.3 percent to 2.35 trillion yuan, and the U.S., down 8.1 percent to 2.1 trillion yuan.

China's trade surplus with the U.S. increased by 11.1 percent during the first seven months of this year with exports to the U.S. dropping 2.1 percent to 1.62 trillion yuan, and imports from the U.S. declining 24 percent to 473.93 billion yuan.

Trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 5.03 trillion yuan, up 10.2 percent year on year, the GAC said, adding that the amount accounted for 28.9 percent of China's total trade volume, up 1.6 percentage points from the same period last year.

China's private businesses posted faster trade growth in the first seven months, with trade volume up 11.8 percent to 7.31 trillion yuan. That figure occupied 42 percent of the total trade volume in the period, up 2.9 percentage points year on year.

The country's crude oil imports went up 9.5 percent on a yearly basis to 286 million tons in the first seven months, with refined oil declining 3.9 percent to the tune of 18.40 million tons.

Besides, imports of natural gas saw a 10.8 percent year-on-year increase, while soybean and steel products imports dropped in the first seven months.

Customs data also showed the world's second-largest economy exported more mechanical and electrical products as well as labor-intensive products for the January-July period of 2019.

For instance, electronics saw a seven percent growth at 2.44 trillion yuan and textiles increased 7.7 percent, reaching 472.07 billion yuan.