Stronger-than-expected growth in China's foreign trade in January has surprised the market.

China's foreign trade volume climbed 10.3 percent year on year in January to $382.4 billion, marking a strong beginning for 2014, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on February 12.

Exports rose 10.6 percent from a year earlier to $207.13 billion, while imports increased 10 percent to $175.27 billion. The trade surplus stood at $31.86 billion in January, up 14 percent from a year ago and 24.25 percent from December 2013.

Chang Jian, Chief China Economist at Barclays Capital, called the January figures "surprisingly strong," as the institution expected weak January trade performance based on weak PMI export orders, a high base from last year, and holiday distortions.

"Today's strong export report could have been boosted by a rush of shipments ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday," Chang said.

Overall, the data suggest that the underlying strength of Chinese exports is probably better than we expected, he added.