Customs General Administration of China said, March exports rose 14.2% from a year earlier, while imports dropped 7.6%. That left the country with a trade surplus of $32.64 billion for the month.

Analysts had expected March exports to have increased 7.3% from a year earlier, after a sharp drop of 20.8% in February. Imports were expected to have dropped 1.3%, narrowing from 5.2% fall in the preceding month. The trade surplus had been tipped at $7.05 billion last month from February's $4.08 billion.

Analysts caution that Chinese data is often highly volatile early in the year, due to massive business disruptions caused by the long Lunar New Year holidays, which began in early February this year.