Trade numbers for the month of May signaled the world's second-largest economy was still a long way off from full health.

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Exports in dollar-denominated terms tanked 4.1 percent on-year, more than double April's 1.8 percent fall, Reuters said on Wednesday. Imports edged down 0.4 percent on-year, narrower than April's 10.9 percent tumble.

That left Beijing with a trade surplus of USD 49.98 billion, versus the previous month's USD 45.56 billion.

A Reuters poll of economists had anticipated May exports would decline 3.6 percent, imports would fall 6 percent, and the trade surplus would rise to USD 58 billion.

"We are talking about an L-shaped recovery," William Ma, chief investment officer of wealth management firm Noah Holdings, told CNBC's Squawk Box on Wednesday, referring to a period of sharp declines in key economic metrics, followed by a long stage of flat growth.

Indeed, data points for the month of May so far seem to confirm that trend.

Three separate surveys last week showed activity in the manufacturing and services sectors was relatively unchanged.

Meanwhile, the World Bank kept China's 2016 growth forecast at 6.7 percent, unchanged from its previous estimates, in a report on Wednesday. But the organization did warn growth could dip to to 6.3 percent by 2018 as Beijing progressed toward a more consumer and services-driven economy.