A ship loads containers at a terminal in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING — China's foreign trade volume rose 16.6 percent to 20.29 trillion yuan ($3.08 trillion) in the first three quarters of this year, official data showed Friday.

Exports increased 12.4 percent to 11.16 trillion yuan, while imports surged 22.3 percent to 9.13 trillion yuan, the General Administration of Customs (GAC)?said.

Trade surplus shrank 17.7 percent to 2.03 trillion yuan in the same period.

"China's imports and exports remained sound and steady and witnessed positive changes in the first three quarters," GAC said in a statement.

Trade with traditional markets witnessed a full recovery, with exports to the European Union, the United States and Japan up by 16.4 percent, 18.7 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively.

Both the trade volume and the share of private enterprises increased, as their combined volume rose 17.8 percent and accounted for 38.5 percent of the total, larger than the share for the same period of last year.

In September, China's foreign trade rose 13.6 percent to 2.46 trillion yuan, with exports up 9 percent and imports up 19.5 percent. Trade surplus shrank 28 percent to 193 billion yuan.