Exports by China tumbled in February, but capital spending accelerated in response to a massive government stimulus package.
Exports in February were 25.7% below a year earlier, while imports dropped by 24.1%.
The resulting trade surplus was $US4.84 billion, a three-year low, compared with $US39.1 billion in January and a record $US40.1 billion in November.
Chinese exporters have previously fared better than their competitors in countries such as South Korea and Taiwan.
BNP Paribas economist Isaac Meng said the drop was the steepest since bankers started keeping records in 1993.
Other figures issued earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics showed investment in urban areas in fixed assets such as roads, power plants and apartment buildings rose 26.5% in January and February from a year earlier.
Stimulus package
A stimulus plan worth 4 trillion yuan ($US585 billion) was announced by Beijing on 9 November.
Spending on projects backed by the central government rose 40.3% in the first two months.
In addition, bank lending is surging; cement and steel output rose 17% and 2.4%, respectively, in the first two months; a decline in power demand slowed; and car sales topped 800,000 in February for the first time in eight months.
However, the government said on Wednesday that inventories of raw materials such as coal have started to mount again.
