China's trade surplus shrinks

China's trade surplus has shrunk to roughly a third of the level in the same month a year ago.

Customs authorities in China have put the figure at US$8.56 billion dollars in February.

Economists had been expecting a weakening of export performance, due to economic woes in the US, which have made consumers less likely to but Chinese-made goods.

They have also warned that China's exports are under threat from a variety of factors, including a strengthening of the yuan, the local currency.