HONG KONG (Yonhap News) -- China's trade surplus widened in October from the previous month as exports grew faster than imports, the Chinese customs office said Saturday. 

The world's second-largest economy posted a trade surplus of US $32 billion last month, compared with $27.7 billion in September, according to the General Administration of Customs. 

Exports went up 11.6 percent on-year to $175.6 billion in October, while imports rose 2.4 percent to $143.6 billion.

The expansion both in exports and imports is seen as indicating that the Chinese economy is recovering.

Many market watchers suggest the Chinese economy may have hit the bottom in the third quarter of this year. 

In the July-September period, China's gross domestic product

(GDP) grew 7.4 percent on-year, slowing from a 9.1 percent increase during the same period a year earlier.

China's economic growth has continued to slow this year with its GDP increasing 7.6 percent on-year in the second quarter and

8.1 percent in the first quarter, due to the eurozone debt crisis and other global uncertainties.