BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms increased 3.5 percent year on year in August, marking the third consecutive month that both exports and imports achieved simultaneous growth, official data showed Monday.

During the January-August period, China's goods trade also expanded 3.5 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports led the overall expansion during the January-August period, surging 6.9 percent year on year, while imports registered a slight decrease of 1.2 percent.

In U.S. dollar terms, the country's exports and imports of goods amounted to 321.81 billion U.S. dollars and 219.48 billion U.S. dollars, respectively, in August. For the first eight months, the figures were 2.452 trillion U.S. dollars and 1.666 trillion U.S. dollars.

During the January-August period, ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade surging 9.7 percent to 4.93 trillion yuan (about 686.8 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 16.7 percent of the country's total foreign trade. It was followed by the European Union, with trade rising 4.3 percent.

Data also highlighted a 5.4 percent increase in trade with Belt and Road countries to 15.3 trillion yuan, while trade with the United States, China's third-largest trading partner, fell 13.5 percent in the first eight months of this year.

Private enterprises demonstrated significant dynamism as the main driver of trade, with their import and export values growing 7.4 percent to 16.89 trillion yuan, accounting for 57.1 percent of the nation's total, 2.1 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

China's foreign trade continued to undergo a structural shift as exports of mechanical and electrical products grew 9.2 percent, accounting for 60.2 percent of total exports, driven by strong growth in integrated circuits and automobiles, while labor-intensive products saw a 1.5 percent decline. ■