A container ship docks at the Port of Ningbo, East China's Zhenjiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 5.9 percent year on year in August, while imports increased 10.8 percent, customs data showed on Thursday.

That led to a monthly trade surplus of 346 billion yuan ($51.9 billion), down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Foreign trade in the first eight months was down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, with exports dropping 1 percent and imports falling 2.9 percent.

Trade surplus for the first eight months widened 5 percent from a year earlier to 2.31 trillion yuan.

Foreign trade with the European Union, China's biggest trade partner, climbed 3.5 percent year on year in the first eight months, GAC data showed.

In the same period, foreign trade with the United States, China's second-biggest trade partner, fell 3.2 percent, and that with ASEAN, its third-largest trade partner, declined 1.1 percent.

In the same period, China's iron ore imports rose 9.3 percent by volume, while that of crude oil and coal surged 13.5 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively.