In spite of the rebound in exports in March, China's trade data in the whole of the first quarter still came in weaker from a year ago.

Exports totalled 3 trillion yuan in Q1 of 2016, marking a 4.2% drop. And imports fared even worse, dipping 8.2%, and totalling 2.2 trillion yuan. Breaking the quarter into individual months here.

China's exports fell 6.6% year on year at the beginning of the year, while imports declined 14.4%, clocking far bigger slides than analysts expected. And things didn't pick up in February. Exports fell a whopping 20.6% on-year in the month, while imports declined 8%.

The trade data in the first two months of 2016 had raised doubts over external demand for Chinese goods, and deepened concerns about the health of the world's second-largest economy.