BEIJING - China's exports took a surprising tumble in June, putting pressure on the growth of the world's second-largest economy.

Exports dropped 3.1 percent in June from a year earlier, while imports went down 0.7 percent, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Wednesday.

Exports stood at $174.32 billion and imports totalled $147.19 billion, with a trade surplus of $27.13 billion for the month.

Total foreign trade shrank 2 percent year on year to $321.51 billion in June.

Foreign trade neared $2 trillion in the first half of the year, up 8.6 percent year on year, with exports at $1.05 trillion, up 10.4 percent, and imports at $944.87 billion, up 6.7 percent.

China's foreign trade growth rate has been slowing down in the first half of the year, as it grew 13.5 percent in the first quarter year on year and 4.3 percent in the second quarter, but just 0.3 percent in May and 2 percent in June, said GAC spokesman Zheng Yuesheng.

Zheng attributed the slump in the second quarter mainly to weak global demand, rising foreign exchange and labor costs, and various trade frictions.

China's foreign trade will face more challenges and difficulties in the second half of the year, and the ultimate solution would be to transform growth patterns and restructure commodities, Zheng said.