FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers of China Shipping and China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) are seen on a container ship at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong, China July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed to $14.72 billion in February, from $27.3 billion in January, customs data showed on Friday.

For January-February combined, China’s trade surplus with the U.S. stood at $42.1 billion.

China’s large trade surplus with the United States has long been a sore point with Washington, and is at the center of a bitter dispute between the two countries.

In 2018, the two governments imposed tit-for-tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars.