According to figures released on Monday by the Chinese General Administration of Customs, imports in May fell 18.1 percent [annualized] to 803.3 billion yuan [$129.4 billion]. Exports declined 2.8 percent [annualized] to 1.17 trillion yuan [$188.4 billion].
The decline in imports, which came despite stronger commodity prices, led to a trade surplus of 366.8 billion yuan for May [$59 billion], a substantial increase of 65 percent from April.
The recording is almost as high as the $60.5 billion trade surplus posted in February, when exports gained more than 48 percent amid the US economic recovery, and imports dropped 20.5 percent as a result of the Chinese New Year holiday period.
Trade data released last month about April showed a 6.2 percent contraction in exports and a 16.1 per-cent drop in imports in annual terms.
In May the People's Bank of China cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time since November by 25 basis points to 5.1 percent, in a bid to stimulate lending and boost economic activity.
"China's economy is still facing relatively big downward pressure," said the PBOC, which cut its one-year benchmark deposit rates by the same amount, to 2.25 percent.
"At the same time, the overall level of domestic prices remains low, and real interest rates are still higher than the historical average."
The Chinese government has a growth target of seven percent for the year; in April the Chinese economy posted growth of seven percent year-on-year, its slowest quarterly growth rate since 2009, and slower than 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.
