CHINA's import and export growth slowed sharply in June from the previous month, reflecting stagnating economic conditions in China and abroad, Reuters reported.

Imports rose 6.3 per cent year on year in June, the customs administration said, less than half the 12.7 per cent increase forecast by economists polled by Reuters, and down sharply from the 12.7 per cent increase in May.

Exports grew 11.3 per cent year on year in June, above economist estimates of a 9.9 per cent increase but down from May's strong increase of 15.3 per cent. The country's trade surplus widened to US$31.7 billion in June, above a forecast of $21 billion and up from $18.7 billion in May.

"In today's 'accentuate the negative' world, this is going to put the focus on the domestic demand angle and the hard landing story," said Tim Condon, chief economist and head of Asian economic research at IGN in Singapore.

Officials blamed the European debt crisis as the cause of Beijing's inability to meet its 10 per cent target for trade growth this year as the EU was over taken by the United States as China's main export destination.

"China's exports to the European Union actually fell in the first half. Our exports to Germany have been falling for four consecutive months and exports to France have been on decline for three straight months, too. Our exports to Italy have been falling for 10 straight months since September," said China Customs spokesman Zheng Yuesheng.

Said HSBC economist Sun Junwei: "Exports are better than expected, but I don't think this means that we shouldn't be concerned about exports. The United States replaced Europe to become our largest exporting market in the first half. However, US economic recovery is not stable yet, and its demand for our goods has not returned to the level seen before."

Exports to the EU fell 0.8 per cent in the first half of 2012 to $163.1 billion, while to the United States they rose 13.6 per cent to $165.3 billion. China imported $65.8 billion worth of US goods in the first six months, up 7.9 per cent.