BEIJING: China''s trade surplus stood at 16.7 billion dollars in April, according to customs figures made public Monday.

The figure compares with a trade surplus of 13.4 billion dollars in March, and 8.6 billion dollars in February.

Chinese exports in April rose 21.8 percent from a year earlier to 118.7 billion dollars, while imports increased 26.3 percent to 102 billion dollars, the figures showed.

The trade surplus for the first four months reached 58.0 billion dollars, the bureau said. It did not say how much it had changed from the same period last year.

In the four months from January to April, exports rose 21.5 percent from the same period a year earlier to 424.6 billion dollars, the bureau said.

Imports in the same four months totaled 366.6 billion dollars, up 27.9 percent.