A US cargo ship docks at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

China's foreign trade amounted to 8.47 trillion yuan ($1.29 trillion) in the first quarter of this year, up 29.2 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The country's exports soared 38.7 percent on a yearly basis to 4.61 trillion yuan from January to March, while its imports jumped 19.3 percent year-on-year to 3.86 trillion yuan. Its trade surplus surged 690.6 percent year-on-year to 759.29 billion yuan.

The encouraging trade figures are partly due to the lower base from the first quarter of last year, when China's foreign trade was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, administration spokesman Li Kuiwen said.

In the meantime, China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached 1.24 trillion yuan, an increase of 26.1 percent year-on-year, while trade with the European Union rose 36.4 percent to 1.19 trillion yuan.

The goods trade value between China and the United States grew 61.3 percent year-on-year to 1.08 trillion yuan during the same period.

The country's foreign trade with economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative and trade partners of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership grew by 21.4 percent and 22.9 percent on a yearly basis, respectively, in the first quarter of 2021.

Experts said the recovery of foreign factories, along with high global commodity prices, will put pressure on China's exports, which may be volatile in the second half of this year.