China's trade surplus is shrinking, as exports slowed down in September.

Exports rose 25.1 percent in September from a year earlier to $144.99 billion, 9.3 percentage points slower than August, said the General Administration of Customs.

The September imports came in at $128.11 billion, up 24.1 percent year on year, compared with 35.2 percent in August. The trade surplus was $16.88 billion, a five-month low.

The foreign trade in the first nine months totaled $2.15 trillion, with the trade surplus at $120.6 billion, down 10.5 percent from the same period in 2009.

The drop in the trade surplus is bound to take some pressure off China to appreciate its currency, the yuan, and the country is expected to further encourage imports, said Liu Dezhong, chief economist at the Minmetals Securities Co. Ltd.

A slowdown in exports, came as no surprise, given a relatively high comparison base last year and gains in value of the Chinese currency, said Zuo Xiaolei, chief economist at the China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd.

Meanwhile, demands turned anemic in the developed world and protectionism added to the gloom, said Lu Zhengwei, an economist at the Industrial Bank Co. Ltd.