BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's exports of goods rose 2.6 percent year on year in August, while imports fell 2.6 percent, customs data showed Sunday.

Containers pile up at Waigaoqiao Port in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. (Photo: Xinhua)

Trade surplus stood at 239.6 billion yuan (about 33.79 billion U.S. dollars) last month, expanding 41.8 percent from one year earlier, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

The country's foreign trade climbed 3.6 percent year on year in the first eight months of the year, with its trade surplus widening 46 percent during the period.

The European Union remained as China's largest trading partner during the period, with bilateral trade volume up 9.7 percent from one year earlier to 3.15 trillion yuan, followed by the ASEAN, up 11.7 percent to 2.74 trillion yuan, and the United States, down 9 percent to 2.42 trillion yuan.

China's trade with the Belt and Road countries totaled 5.83 trillion yuan for the January-August period, up 9.9 percent year on year, 6.3 percentage points higher than the overall pace, said the GAC, adding that the amount accounted for 29 percent of China's total trade volume.