Chinese shares made gains Thursday as better-than-expected trade data boosted market sentiment.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.64 percent at 3,218.16, and the smaller Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.12 percent higher at 10,466.10.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board, lost 0.44 percent to close at 1,778.86.

Total turnover on the two bourses came in at 438 billion yuan (about 64.6 billion U.S. dollars).

Over 1,000 shares across the two bourses made gains with financial and ship building sectors rising the most.

China Merchants Securities jumped 3.2 percent to close at 17.72 yuan and CSSC Science & Technology gained 5.18 percent to close at 17.66 yuan.

China's foreign trade expanded at the fastest pace since the second half of 2011, buffering the economy from a slowdown amid headwinds at home and abroad.

Exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 15 percent year on year in the first half of this year, while imports increased 25.7 percent, customs data showed Thursday.

This led to a trade surplus of 1.28 trillion yuan (188 billion U.S. dollars) in the same period, down 17.7 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Total foreign trade volume reached 13.14 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, up 19.6 percent year on year, the quickest pace since the second half of 2011.