Containers are unloaded at Qingdao Port in Shandong province in March. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]

China's total goods imports and exports nudged up 0.4 percent year-on-year to 23.55 trillion yuan ($3.27 trillion) in the first seven months, according to the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday.

In the January-July period, exports grew 1.5 percent year-on-year to 13.47 trillion yuan while imports edged down 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 10.08 trillion yuan, the data showed.

In July alone, the country's total foreign trade, however, witnessed a year-on-year decline of 8.3 percent and came in at 3.46 trillion yuan. In particular, exports fell 9.2 percent from a year ago to 2.02 trillion while imports shrank 6.9 percent to 1.44 trillion yuan, according to the data.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's biggest trading partner in the first seven months, with the two sides' trade in goods rising 2.8 percent year-on-year to 3.59 trillion yuan. The value accounted for 15.3 percent of China's total foreign trade value during this period, the data showed.

In addition, China saw notable development in trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in the January-July period, growing 7.4 percent year-on-year to 8.06 trillion yuan in the combined figures, according to the GAC.

Private enterprises, a main contributor to China's foreign trade, saw their combined imports and exports grow 6.7 percent year-on-year to 12.46 trillion yuan in the first seven months. The value represented 52.9 percent of the country's total foreign trade, the data showed.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn