CHINA reported a trade deficit of US$7.3 billion in February, the first since last March and the biggest in seven years as the country's imports outpaced its exports.

Due to the Spring Festival holiday which disrupted trade activities, growth in both exports and imports moderated dramatically last month.

Exports edged up 2.4 percent in February from a year earlier to US$96.7 billion, while imports expanded 19.4 percent to US$104 billion, the General Administration of Customs said today.

China's exports and imports grew 37.7 percent and 51 percent respectively in January.

"The unexpected moderation in trade is more technical (affected by the Chinese New Year holiday) rather than a sign of a faster-than-expected deterioration in fundamentals," said Wang Qing, an economist at Morgan Stanley.

He said one should combine the data with that of January to get the big picture, noting that China's export growth remains robust and its import growth is even stronger.

In the first two months, China's exports gained 21.3 percent to US$247.47 billion while imports surged 36 percent to US$248.36 billion, creating a trade deficit of US$890 million.