China's Current Account Posts Surpluse in Q1

BEIJING, May 25  -- China posted surpluses under both the current account and capital and financial account in the first quarter, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Tuesday.

The surplus under the current account, which measures China's foreign trade, reached $29.8 billion in the first quarter, down 18 percent from a year earlier, SAFE said on its website.

For the capital and financial account, China reported a surplus of $111.4 billion, including $42.6 billion of net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the SAFE.

The surpluses under the current and capital and financial accounts raised China's international reserve assets by $141.2 billion in the first quarter, of which $138 billion was kept as foreign exchange reserves.

By the end of March, China's foreign exchange reserves hit $3.04 trillion, up 24.4 percent year-on-year, according to figures from China's central bank.