Chinese exports and imports fell steeply for the fifth month in March from a year earlier but by less than most analysts had predicted, prompting the government to say the collapse in China’s external trade has bottomed out.

Chinese exports fell 17.1 per cent in March from a year earlier, while imports dropped 25.1 per cent, pushing China’s trade surplus up to $18.6bn for the month, a 41 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier and a large jump from $4.8bn in February.