BEIJING, June 7 (Reuters) - China"s imports grew at their fastest pace in 10 years in May, fuelled by surging demand for raw materials, although export growth slowed more than expected, weighed by disruptions caused by COVID-19 cases at the country"s major southern ports. China"s exports in dollar terms grew 27.9% in May from a year earlier, slower than the 32.3% growth reported in April and missing analysts" forecast of 32.1%. Imports increased 51.1% year-on-year last month in dollar terms, the fastest growth since January 2011 but a touch slower than the 51.5% rise tipped by the Reuters poll. Following is a breakdown of China"s exports and imports with its biggest trade partners in May. May Exports Imports Balance( Export Imports Exports Imports +/- % ($bln) ($bln) $bln) s +/- +/- % +/- % m/m % y/y y/y m/m Japan 13.9 16.7 -2.7 5.0% 33.6% 1.6% -9.8% South Korea 12.5 17.1 -4.6 29.9% 31.9% 0.2% -2.3% Taiwan 6.5 19.2 -12.7 31.3% 29.5% -3.6% -1.0% European 39.9 27.2 12.7 12.6% 57.7% 0.0% 1.7% Union USA 44.9 13.1 31.8 20.6% 40.5% 6.7% -6.0% Australia 4.9 13.6 -8.7 1.4% 55.4% -6.5% -8.5% ASEAN 39.2 33.1 6.1 40.6% 53.8% -4.6% 5.6% (Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.