Chinese officials say the country's trade surplus fell sharply in August, after an unexpected jump in imports. China 's customs agency said on Saturday that exports rose 24.5 percent year-on-year in August to 173 billion dollar. However, imports jumped 30.2 percent to 155.5 billion dollar in August, breaking the previous monthly record of 152.2 billion dollar set in March. As a result, China 's trade surplus narrowed to 17.8 billion dollar from July's 30-month high of 31.5 billion dollar. China 's trade surplus is a major point of contention for its key trade partners, the United States and Europe , who seek better market access to the world's second-largest economy.