China's export growth in yuan-denominated terms slowed to 1.2% year on year in May from 4.1% in April, customs data showed Wednesday.

    Imports grew 5.1%, significantly rebounding from a 5.7% decline in April, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs (GAC). Tade surplus last month was 324.8 billion yuan (about 50 billion US dollars), up from April's 298 billion yuan, according to China's (Xinhua) News Agency.

    Foreign trade increased 2.8% year on year to about 2 trillion yuan in May, while for the first five months combined slipped 3.2% to nearly 9.2 trillion yuan, recovering from a 4.8% decline for the January-April period. In the five months, exports dropped 1.8% year on year and imports went down 5%, leading to a trade surplus of 1.4 trillion yuan. 

    A leading index for export outlook dropped by 0.7 points to 33.1 points in May, signaling growing pressure on export growth in the third quarter of 2016, said a GAC statement.