Targets in doubt

The customs office expects exports to pick up in the second half of the year in line with improving global demand, but spokesperson Zheng Yuesheng said China will need to "invest arduous efforts" if it wants to meet its 7.5 percent trade growth target.

Analysts think it may already be too late.

"We think China could miss its target ...We expect combined exports and imports to rise 5 percent in 2014 from a year ago," said Li Huiyong, an economist at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities in Shanghai.

China's exports were sluggish earlier this year but its trade performance has gained traction in recent months, helped by an improving US economy and as the government gave exporters more tax breaks, credit insurance, and currency hedging options.

Exports to the United States, China's top export destination, rose 7.5 percent in June, quickening from a rise of 6.3 percent in May, while those to the European Union, the second most important market, grew 13.1 percent, compared with 13.4 percent in May.

China posted a trade surplus of $31.6 billion in June, down from $35.9 billion in May.

Recent factory activity surveys, however, have shown a marked slowdown in growth in export orders, indicating that domestic demand may have to continue picking up the slack.

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