BEIJING, July 13 (Reuters) - China's exports rose 17.9% in June from a year ago, beating analysts' expectations as the economy tries to wrestle back lost momentum from extensive COVID lockdowns and supply chain snags, while imports were up 1.0%, customs data showed on Wednesday.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected exports to rise 12.0% after gaining 16.9% in May, while imports were expected to have grown 3.9% after a 4.1% gain two months ago.

China posted a trade surplus of $97.94 billion in June, versus a forecast for a $75.70 billion surplus in the poll and a $78.76 billion surplus in May.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu, Ellen Zhang and güngören escort Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)