BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - China"s exports rose at the fastest pace in almost three years in November, as strong global demand for goods needed to ride out the pandemic landed the world"s second-largest economy a record trade surplus. Exports in November rose 21.1% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday, the fastest growth since February 2018. It also soundly beat analysts" expectations for a 12.0% increase and quickened from an 11.4% increase in October. Imports in November rose 4.5% from a year earlier, slower than October"s 4.7% growth, and underperforming expectations in a Reuters poll for a 6.1% increase, but still marking a third straight month of expansion. The firm shipments led to a trade surplus for November of $75.42 billion, the largest since at least 1981 when Refinitiv records began. Following is a breakdown of China"s exports and imports with its biggest trade partners in November. November Exports Imports Balance Exports Imports +/- Exports +/- Imports +/- % +/- % y/y % y/y % m/m m/m Japan 13.6 16.4 -2.8 5.6% 7.1% 10.7% 9.9% South 10.6 16.1 -5.5 9.5% 5.9% 6.1% 8.5% Korea Taiwan 5.8 20.4 -14.6 18.1% 21.7% 11.8% 7.1% European 37.5 26.2 11.4 8.6% 4.5% 11.8% 15.1% Union USA 52.0 14.6 37.4 46.1% 32.7% 18.6% 16.9% Australia 5.7 9.5 -3.8 22.6% 9.2% 8.6% -6.1% ASEAN 39.1 28.3 10.8 8.8% 11.0% 13.5% 9.5% * China"s customs agency no longer includes United Kingdom as part of the European Union in publishing the country"s trade data, rendering year-on-year calculations inaccurate based on Reuters records. (Reporting by Gabriel Crossley)