China has zipped past the United States as the European Union's largest trade partner after bilateral trade rose to Euro35.6 billion in July, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in Beijing.

Citing the latest statistics from Eurostat, the ministry said trade between China and the European Union totalled Euro35.6 billion ($49.4 billion) in July, allowing the countryto overtake the US.

The overall value of China-EU trade in July exceeded that of the European Union and the United States by Euro800 million, accounting for 13.4 per cent of the region's total imports and exports, according

to data released by the EU's statistics office.

However, bilateral trade shrank for a second consecutive month in July, falling 0.8 per cent from the same period lastyear, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, China remained the EU's second largest exportmarket.

EU exports to China totalled Euro11.7 billion in July, up 12.3 per cent year-on-year, which is higher than EU'stotal export growth rate of 4.1 per cent.

The EU imported Euro23.9 billion in Chinese goods, down6.2 per cent from the previous year.

But China still held the top spot as the region's import source, making up 17.4 per cent of the EU's total imports.

The EU reported a Euro12.2-billion trade deficit with China in July.