China's political sensitive trade surplus with the United States widened in May from a year earlier, while its total global surplus shrank as imports accelerated.

Customs data on Friday show imports rose 26 percent from a year ago to $187.9 billion, up from April's 21.5 percent growth. Exports rose 12.6 percent to $212.9 billion, little changed from the previous month's 12.9 percent.

The trade surplus with the United States widened by 12 percent to $24.6 billion. China's global trade gap narrowed by 39 percent to $24.9 billion.

Beijing is under U.S. pressure to narrow its trade surplus.