China's trade surplus with the US declined in January

China trade surplus with the US fell to $27.3 billion in January, from $29.87 billion in December. 

The overall trade surplus widened to $39.16 billion in January, beating the forecasted figure of $33.5 billion. 

China's trade surplus has been a major bone of contention and the drop seen in January is not big enough to ease trade tensions between Beijing and the White House. 

It is worth noting that last year China logged a record high trade surplus of $323 billion with the US.