BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's goods trade went up 8.6 percent year on year to 16.72 trillion yuan (about 2.45 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of this year, customs data showed Wednesday.

Exports rose 5 percent year on year in the January-July period while imports grew 12.9 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.06 trillion yuan, which narrowed by 30.6 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In July, exports rose by 6 percent to 1.39 trillion yuan, while imports jumped 20.9 percent to 1.21 trillion yuan.

In the first seven months, exports and imports of products under the general trade category, which are differentiated from processing trade, gained 12.7 percent from a year ago to 9.85 trillion yuan, accounting for 58.9 percent of the total foreign trade, 2.1 percentage points higher than the same period in 2017.

The country's trade with major trading partners saw an increase during the January-July period. Trade with the European Union, its largest trading partner, climbed 5.9 percent, and trade volume with the United States and ASEAN countries increased by 5.2 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively.

Trade with countries along the Belt and Road totaled 4.57 trillion yuan, up 11.3 percent year on year, 2.7 percentage points faster than the average growth rate, data showed.