The monthly customs data presentation came after President Donald Trump tweeted that China had been asked to cut the trade imbalance by $1 billion this year.
Trump has raised fears of a global trade war with his plan to sign off on tariffs on steel and aluminum as early as Thursday, though the White House signaled that US allies could get a reprieve.
While China's surplus with the US was down from $21.9 billion in January and $25.6 billion in December, it is still more than double that of February last year, according to the Chinese customs bureau.
Other customs data showed China's exports to the world surged in February, rising 44.5 percent compared with the same period last year, beating the 11 percent growth forecast by Bloomberg News.
But imports grew a disappointing 6.3 percent for the month, shy of the 8 percent expected by analysts.