Beijing, Jan 11 (IANS): China's total exports and imports surpassed $4 trillion for the first time to reach $4.16 trillion in 2013, up 7.6 percent year on year, China Daily reported Friday citing customs data.

The growth rate, however, is slightly lower than the government's full-year target of 8 percent, published in the beginning of 2013, the daily said.

China's exports rose 7.9 percent year on year to $2.21 trillion in 2013, while imports increased 7.3 percent to $1.95 trillion, the customs data revealed.

The foreign trade surplus widened to $259.75 billion in 2013, an increase of 12.8 percent from a year earlier, said Zheng Yuesheng, spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs.

In December, China's foreign trade value hit a new high of $389.8 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent from a year earlier.

According to Zheng, trade with the European Union (EU), China's biggest trade partner, edged up 2.1 percent year on year to $559.1 billion in 2013. China exported $339 billion worth of goods to the EU, while importing $220.1 billion worth of goods from the EU.

Trade with the US, China's second-biggest trade partner, rose 7.5 percent year on year to $521 billion. China's exports to the US amounted to $368.4 billion, while imports from the country stood at $152.6 billion.

China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, its third-largest trading partner, rose 10.9 percent year on year to $443.6 billion.

Its trade with Japan meanwhile contracted 5.1 percent year on year, to $312.55 billion.

Lu said that China's annual export growth could rise to 9.6 percent in 2014, contributing about 40 basic points to GDP growth. Headline import growth could tick up from 7.0 percent in 2013 to 7.9 percent in 2014 on robust domestic demand including some restocking of raw materials.