China's exports and imports both fell in May as the coronavirus and trade tensions with the US weighed on demand both at home and abroad.

Exports fell 3.3 per cent compared to a year earlier to $206.8 billion and imports dropped 16.7 per cent to $143.9 billion, the Chinese customs agency said Sunday.

The plunge in imports drove the country's trade surplus up to $62.9 billion. The surplus with the United States reached $27.9 billion.

The fall in exports came after a surprise 3.5 per cent rise the previous month. Exports to the US totaled $37.2 billion, while imports from the US were $9.3 billion.

Analysts were expecting the decline in exports, attributing April's rise to orders placed before virus restrictions hit overseas economies and predicting that American and European customers would likely cancel other orders.