Trade surplus sees first quarterly drop

China's imports grew faster than its exports from January to March, resulting in the first quarterly decline in trade surplus in three years.

The surplus reached $41.4 billion for the first three months of the year, down 10.9 percent year on year, statistics from customs released on Friday showed.

The trend of a shrinking trade surplus may continue for the rest of the year, which will aid the government's efforts to prevent the economy from overheating, analysts said.