China's exports fell 6.1 percent year-on-year to 1.20 trillion yuan (around $188 billion) in August, Customs said Tuesday, the latest batch of data showing weakness in the world's second-largest economy.

But the drop was slightly ahead of the median forecast of a 6.6 percent decline in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News. Imports fell 14.3 percent year-on-year, Customs said, while the trade surplus rose 20.1 percent to 368.0 billion yuan.