China's customs bureau said Sunday that the country's trade surplus jumped to $22.27 billion in June, outperforming May's $13.05 surplus and economists' forecasts.

The rise exceeded a Bloomberg News survey of economists that predicted a median figure of $14.2 billion.

At the same time, figures showed that China's import growth fell to 19.3 percent, down sharply from May's 28.4 percent.

Economists say the slower import growth is a result of Chinese leaders tightening controls to cool an overheated economy and rising inflation.