BEIJING -- China's imports and exports of electronic and IT (information technology) products amounted to $867.3 billion in the first eight months of 2013, up 17.6 percent from the same period last year, government data showed on Thursday.

The growth rate was 9.3 percentage points higher than the nation's overall trade growth and these sectors accounted for nearly one-third of the country's total trade volume during the same period, according to the data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In breakdown, exports of electronic and IT products increased 16.3 percent to $504.9 billion during the period; meanwhile, imports stood at $362.4 billion, up 19.4 percent year on year, the data showed.

Laptops, integrated circuits (IC) and cell phones ranked as the top three categories in terms of export value, while ICs, liquid crystal display panels, and handheld wireless phone components were the top three in terms of import value.