Foreign sales fell 7.5% year-on-year and imports contracted 1.9%, reported the General Customs Office.
A survey carried out by the Bloomberg agency had projected a drop in exports of 1.9% and an increase in imports of 1%.
Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said the drop is largely due to two fewer working days in March than last year.
“The weekday effect distorts the image,” he explained.
The Chinese government is trying to shore up growth in the face of global demand, which continues to show signs of weakness. In addition, it faces problems such as high indebtedness in the real estate sector, high youth unemployment and low levels of consumption.
China expects GDP growth of around 5% this year and will publish first quarter figures in the coming days.
