Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected exports to fall 9.4%, after dropping 9.9% in December amid cooling global demand. Imports were forecast to have shrank an annual 5.5%, compared with a 7.5% fall in December, even though domestic consumption improved after the lifting of stringent COVID-19 curbs late last year.
China posted a trade surplus of $116.9 billion in January-February, compared with a $81.8 billion surplus expected in the poll. (Reporting by Joe Cash and Ellen Zhang; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Kim Coghill)