China`s imports tumbled 18.1 percent year-on-year to 803.33 billion yuan ($129.4 billion) in May, official data showed Monday, suggesting further weakness in the world`s second-largest economy.
Exports decreased 2.8 percent to 1.17 trillion yuan and the trade surplus expanded 65.0 percent to 366.8 billion yuan, the customs authority said in a statement online.
Imports fell for the seventh straight month, while exports declined for the third month in a row despite the government cutting interest rates three times since November while also lowering the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve.
China`s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.4 percent in 2014, the lowest rate in nearly a quarter of a century and there have been few signs of a pick-up this year.
GDP expanded 7.0 percent in the January-March period, the worst quarterly result in six years.
