BEIJING, March 10 (Reuters) - China's export growth picked up pace in the January-February period, expanding 21.8% from a year earlier in U.S. dollar value terms, while imports jumped 19.8%, customs data showed on Tuesday.
Outbound shipments were expected to have risen an annual 7.1%, according to a Reuters poll of economists, up from a 6.6% gain in December. Imports were forecast to have grown 6.3%, against a 5.7% increase previously.