China's foreign trade in 2010 jumped 34.7percent from a year earlier to well over 2.97 trillion U.S. dollars as its trade surplus fell 6.4 percent to 183.1 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Monday.

The country's exports grew 31.3 percent year on year last year to 1.58 trillion U.S. dollars while imports surged 38.7 percent to 1.39 trillion U.S. dollars, said the GAC.

"China's foreign trade is, in general, heading towards a balanced structure," said the GAC in a statement on its website.

The trade surplus in 2010 accounted for 6.2 percent of all foreign trade of the year, down from 8.9 percent in 2009 and 11.6 percent in 2008.

In December, foreign trade hit a record high of 295.2 billion U.S. dollars, representing year-on-year growth of 21.4 percent and a month-on-month rise of 4 percent.

The European Union remained China's largest trade partner in 2010, with EU-China trade up 31.8 percent year on year to 479.71 billion U.S. dollars.

China's trade with the United States rose 29.2 percent year on year to 385.34 billion U.S. dollars while China-Japan trade jumped 30.2 percent year on year to 297.77 billion U.S. dollars.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement on its website Monday China's foreign trade last year was "better-than-expected," citing Li Jian, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a MOC affiliate.

Li attributed the strong growth in foreign trade to the recovery in global demand, government efforts to maintain export growth and the low comparison basis of 2009.

Wang Xiaoguang, a research fellow at the Policy Advisory Department of the Chinese Academy of Governance, said he expects China's foreign trade to steadily expand this year as its trade surplus continues to shrink.

Growth in exports will slow while that of imports will pick up amid a strong rebound in investment in 2011, the first year of China's 12th five-year plan, Wang said.