China posted a trade surplus of 1.68 billion U.S. dollars in April, down 87 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Monday.

According to the GAC figures, China's exports in April totaled 119.92 billion U.S. dollars, up 30.5 percent from a year ago, while imports totaled 118.24 billion U.S. dollars, up 49.7 percent year on year. and exports rose 39.4 percent year on year to 238.16 billion U.S. dollars in April.

Taking the first four months together, China's imports and exports totaled 855.99 billion U.S. dollars from January to April, up 42.7 percent from a year earlier.

Trade surplus from January to April plunged 78.6 percent year on year to 16.11 billion U.S. dollars, showed the GAC figures.