China’s exports rebounded in February after a surprising slump in the previous month, but its imports continued to plummet, figures from the Chinese General Administration of Customs show.

Exports surged by 48.9 percent year-on-year to 1.04 trillion yuan (US$169.11 billion) in February, reversing the 3.2-percent decline in January, the administration announced on Sunday.

Imports plunged by 20.1 percent to 666.1 billion yuan in February, widening the trade surplus to a record high of 370.5 billion yuan, the administration added.

The fluctuations in trade figures were “affected by seasonal factors”, the customs explained in a statement accompanying the results. This year’s Chinese New Year fell on February 19, as compared to a January 31 celebration of the festival in 2014.

In the first two months of 2015, China’s total trade retreated by 2 percent from the prior-year period to 3.79 trillion yuan, dragged down by a 19.9-percent slump in imports. Exports rose 15.3 percent in the January-February period.

Despite a sluggish start to trade activity in 2015, Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said on Saturday in a press conference that he was still “confident” in meeting the trade growth target of 6 percent for this year.