China's foreign trade worsened again in August, as both exports and imports declined more than expected, raising further doubts about the health of the global economy.

Imports for China fell 14.3 per cent in August compared to a year earlier, while exports were down 6.1 per cent over the same period. Overall trade in August was down 9.7 per cent, compared to last year.

The value of China's overall trade with Australia fell by 18.6 per cent for the first eight months of the year, while the value of imports from Australia were down 26.4 per cent.

Overall trade in August was down 9.7 per cent, compared to last year. Fairfax Media

Both the August export and import numbers were far worse than the market had expected and came after big declines in July.

China's overall imports in July were down by 8.1 per cent, while exports were down 8.3 per cent compared to the same time last year.

The worse than expected numbers for August are likely to raise fresh doubts about the health of China's economy, which is already struggling to meet its annual growth target of 7 per cent.

China has cut interest rates five times since November last year in response to the weak economy and the government has said it would do more to support growth.

