China's foreign trade decreased 3.2 percent year-on-year to 14.24 trillion yuan in the first six months, narrowing by 1.7 percentage points compared with the decrease for the first five months, said the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday.

Containers are seen at the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Area in Shanghai, China on March 18, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

China saw its foreign trade rise 5.1 percent year-on-year in June, with exports and imports up 4.3 percent and 6.2 percent respectively.

The foreign trade volume of private enterprises rose 4.9 percent to 6.42 trillion yuan in H1, accounting for 45.1 percent of the total.

ASEAN became China's largest trading partner. Trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations stood at 2.09 trillion yuan during the first half of 2020, an increase of 5.6 percent year-on-year and accounting for 14.7 percent of total foreign trade value.

China's export of epidemic prevention and control supplies surged sharply in the first half of the year. China's textile exports, including masks, rose 32.4 percent year-on-year. In the same period, exports of medical materials and medicines increased 23.6 percent and those of medical equipment and devices 46.4 percent.

China has kept its promise and implemented the "phase one" trade deal signed between China and the US during the epidemic, Li Kuiwen, spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, said at a news conference.

In the first six months, foreign trade between China and the United States totaled 1.64 trillion yuan, down 6.6 percent year-on-year. Exports decreased 8.1 percent to 1.25 trillion yuan, while imports fell 1.5 percent to 395.62 trillion yuan.