BEIJING, Aug. 8 -- China's exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 2.9 percent year on year in July, while imports fell 5.7 percent, customs data showed Monday.

This led to a monthly trade surplus of 342.8 billion yuan (51.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 34 percent from one year earlier, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Foreign trade in the first seven months was 3 percent lower than a year before, with exports down 1.6 percent and imports down 4.8 percent.

Trade surplus for the first seven months widened 8.7 percent from one year earlier to 1.99 trillion yuan.

Foreign trade with the European Union, China's biggest trade partner, climbed 1.8 percent year on year in the first seven months, GAC data showed.

In the same period, foreign trade with the United States, China's second-biggest trade partner, fell 4.8 percent and that with the ASEAN, its third-largest trade partner, declined 2.2 percent.