In this July 16, 2020 file photo, containers are loaded onto a cargo ship at a port in Tangshan, Hebei province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's total imports and exports expanded 28.5 percent year on year 11.62 trillion yuan (about US$1.8 trillion) in the first four months of 2021, official data showed Friday. 

This marks an increase of 21.8 percent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

Exports jumped 33.8 percent from a year earlier while imports climbed 22.7 percent in yuan terms.

In the first four months, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's largest trading partner, followed by the European Union and the United States, the GAC data showed

The trade surplus increased 149.7 percent to reach 1.02 trillion yuan in the January-April period.

The country's imports and exports totaled 3.15 trillion yuan in April alone. This marks a year-on-year increase of 26.6 percent and month-on-month growth of 4.2 percent.

In April, the trade surplus narrowed 12.4 percent from a year earlier to 276.5 billion yuan.

In the first four months, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's largest trading partner, followed by the European Union and the United States, the GAC data showed.

During the period, the growth rates of China's trade value with the three trading partners are 27.6 percent, 32.1 percent and 50.3 percent, respectively.

China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 24.8 percent year on year to reach 3.43 trillion yuan.

Private enterprises contributed 47.2 percent of China's total foreign trade in the first four months, up 4.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

Their imports and exports expanded by 40.8 percent to 5.48 trillion yuan during the period.

READ MORE: Guangdong's foreign trade jumps over 30% in Q1