China's imports grew faster than its exports from January to March, resulting in the first quarterly decline in trade surplus in three years.

The surplus reached $41.4 billion for the first three months of the year, down 10.9 percent year on year, statistics from customs released on Friday showed.

The trend of a shrinking trade surplus may continue for the rest of the year, which will aid the government's efforts to prevent the economy from overheating, analysts said.