China Customs statistics show the country's trade surplus increased 22.6 per cent to US$19.49 billion, but it was the smallest and first monthly trade surpluses below $20 billion since May of 2007, Xinhua reported.
China exports grew 26.7 per cent to $109.66 billion, while imports rose 27.6 per cent to $90.17 billion, adding the total import and export value to $199.83 billion, a year-on-year growth of 27.1 per cent, the report said.
January export growth was faster than expected, as there were worries about the effects the recent snow storms and the ambiguous global economic forecast, an economic analyst said.
The EU remained China's largest trading partner as bilateral trade surged 30.1 per cent to $34.38 billion, while the US and Japan came in second and third respectively.
China-India trade soared 76.7 per cent to $4.64 billion in January, the report said.