TOKYO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Japan's exports value surged to their biggest monthly record in December, official data showed on Wednesday, propelled by shipments to China rising for the first time in over a year and record sales to the United States.

Exports from the world's third-largest economy rose 9.8% year-on-year last month to 9.65 trillion yen ($65.13 billion), the Ministry of Finance data showed.

That compared with a 9.1% gain expected by economists in a Reuters poll and followed a 0.2% contraction in November.

Exports to major market China climbed 9.6%, or 1.77 trillion yen ($11.95 billion) in December, the second largest on record. The shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automobiles led the expansion.

China-bound semiconductor and other electronic components were down 22%.

Exports to the United States, Japan's key ally, surged 20.4%, marking 27 consecutive months of growth. Automobiles, construction and mining equipment, as well as auto parts propelled the increase.

Imports fell 6.8% in the year to December, versus the median estimate for a 5.3% decrease.

The trade balance came to a surplus of 62.1 billion yen, versus the median estimate for a 122.1 billion yen deficit. ($1 = 148.1600 yen) ($1 = 148.1700 yen) (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama Editing by Chang-Ran Kim & Shri Navaratnam)