China's trade data reflect the country's current economic trends and are generally supported by the real economy, Ministry of Finance spokesman Yao Jian said Thursday.

The country's comparative advantages have been boosted by growth in central and western areas, as well as efforts to explore booming markets and measures to facilitate trade, Yao said.

In regards to doubts targeting the data, there are regulations that restrict data in the areas of foreign exchange, statistics and trade management, he said.

Foreign trade stood at 2.23 trillion yuan (355.96 billion U.S. dollars) in April, up 15.7 percent from a year earlier, according to figures issued by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Wednesday.

Exports went up 14.7 percent year on year to 1.17 trillion yuan and imports climbed 16.8 percent to 1.06 trillion yuan, GAC data showed.

The data have drawn skepticism.

Economists suspect that the figures were artificially inflated by investors who disguised speculative bets on the yuan as trade payments, according to Reuters.

Analysts cautioned that some of the gains in exports may have been caused by exporters claiming higher payments than they actually receive from their customers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Endi

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