BEIJING, June 29 -- Trade volume between China and Russia rose 1.8 percent between January and May from a year earlier, according to data released on Sunday by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC).

China's exports to Russia in the first five months of this year edged up 1.6 percent year on year to 114.08 billion yuan (18.55 billion U.S. dollars), and imports from Russia in the period rose 2 percent to 111.89 billion yuan, said the GAC.

China registered a trade surplus of 2.19 billion yuan in the first five months of this year, down 2 percent from the same period last year.