U.S.-triggered trade frictions failed to narrow its deficit with China but is instead widening the gap, according to China's customs data from the first five months of this year.

According to the General Administration of Customs,China-U.S. goods trade dropped 9.6 percent year-on-year to 1.42 trillion yuan (about US$206 billion) during the period.

Broken down, exports to the U.S. dropped 3.2 percent yearon-year to 1.09 trillion yuan while imports from the U.S. plunged 25.7 percent year-on-year to 335.3 billion yuan, pushing China's surplus up 11.9 percent to 750.6 billion yuan.

A report published by the U.S.Department of Commerce showed that the U.S. deficit in goods trade totaled US$891.3 billion in 2018,hitting a decade high.

Referring to the deficit as a homegrown problem, Stephen S. Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University, maintained that the U.S. trade deficit exposed the imbalance inside its own economy.

On June 6, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) released a report analyzing factors influencing the bilateral trade imbalance including industrial competitiveness, international labor division and economic structure.

Only by adopting macroeconomic regulatory measures and striking a balance between supply and demand can the U.S. completely eliminate its trade deficit with China, China's MOC report said.