China says it has surpassed the United States to become the European Union's largest trading partner.

The Ministry of Commerce said Sunday that China-EU trade exceeded trade between the United States and Europe for the first time in July.

Citing data from the European statistics agency Eurostat, the ministry said China-EU trade totaled $49.4 billion in July. That was about $1.1 billion more than total trade between the United States and Europe during the month.

The ministry said Chinese exports to Europe were down about 6 percent during July, but imports from the EU were up more than 12 percent over the same month last year.

It said China accounted for 13.4 percent of Europe's total imports and exports during the month.