CHINA'S exports increased 25.1 percent in September from a year earlier to US$144.99 billion, but the pace of growth slowed from August's 34.4-percent surge, China's General Administration of Custom said today.

The country's imports rose 24.1 percent year on year to reach US$128.11 billion last month, with the growth rate down 11.1 percentage points from that in August.

China's trade surplus for the first nine months of the year totaled US$120.6 billion, down 10.5 percent from the same period last year, the custom administration said.