China's trade surplus fell by 42.5 percent in the first six months this year from a year earlier to US$55.3 billion, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Saturday.

In the first half of 2010, exports rose 35.2 percent to 705.09 billion dollars while imports were up 52.7 percent to 649.79 billion dollars, the GAC said in a statement posted on its official website.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2010)