China's exports in dollar terms grew by 32.2 percent in June from a year earlier, at a much faster-than-expected pace, as easing lockdown measures and global vaccination progress drove demand, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed on Tuesday.

The export growth in June was above the predictions of 23.1 percent by Reuters and 22.9 percent by Bloomberg. It was up from the year-on-year growth of 27.9 percent in May.

The trading numbers reflected not only the economy itself but also the confidence between China and its trading partners, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation told CGTN.

China's import growth in dollar terms also beat expectations of 30 percent by Reuters and 29.3 percent by Bloomberg, and increased by 36.7 percent in June from a year ago. But the pace eased from May's 51.1-percent gain, which was the fastest growth since January 2011.

This was the 12th consecutive month of export growth and the ninth consecutive month of import growth. Exports grew to $281.42 billion in June, while imports rose to $229.89 billion.

In the first half of this year, the country's exports went up by 38.6 percent from a year ago to $1.52 trillion, while imports increased by 36 percent over the same period to $1.27 trillion.

"Due to a higher base one year ago, the year-on-year growth rate of imports and exports in the second half of the year is likely to slow down, while the trade throughout the year is still expected to maintain a rapid growth," Li Kuiwen, a spokesman with GAC, said on Tuesday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's No. 1 trading partner, followed by the EU, U.S., and Japan.

The country's total foreign trade volume surged by 34.2 percent on an annual basis to $511.3 billion in June, down from the year-on-year growth of 37.4 percent in May.

China's trade surplus in June was $51.53 billion, wider than the $45.54 billion in May. Meanwhile, the trade surplus was $251.52 billion in the first half of the year.

Preliminary customs data showed that, in the first half of 2021, cross-border e-commerce imports and exports jumped by a yearly 28.6 percent and hit 886.7 billion yuan ($137 billion).

Cross-border trade in the digital economy related products expanded, which reflected the re-adjustment of the global supply chain to fit for the digital economy, said Zhou.

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