BEIJING (REUTERS, AFP) - China's exports came in well above forecasts last month, rising 12.7 per cent from a year earlier, while imports rose 5.3 per cent, leaving the country with a trade surplus of US$33.8 billion (S$42.2 billion) for the month.

That compared with market expectations of a 7.1 per cent rise in exports, a 7.2 per cent rise in imports and a trade surplus of US$21.7 billion.

Exports increased 12.7 per cent to US$202.2 billion from November last year, while imports grew to US$168.4 billion.

In the first 11 months of the year, China's total trade, combining exports and imports, reached US$3.8 trillion, up 7.7 per cent from the same period last year, Customs said.

The government's target for 2013 is 8 per cent.