China reported better-than-expected trade data for January as demand picked up both at home and abroad, an encouraging start to 2017 for the world's largest trading nation even as Asia's exporters brace for a rise in U.S. protectionism.

January exports rose 7.9 percent from a year earlier as global demand perked up, while imports expanded 16.7 percent on improved domestic appetite for coal, crude oil and iron ore, preliminary data from customs showed on Friday.

That left the country with a initial trade surplus of $51.35 billion for the month, the General Administration of Customs said.