The current account surplus -- the broadest measure of trade with the world -- reached $29.8 billion in the first three months of the year, the State Administration for Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.

That was markedly lower than the $102.1 billion seen in the fourth quarter of last year, according to revised SAFE data.

Net inflow of direct investment into China, the world's second-largest economy, totalled $42.6 billion in the first quarter compared with $39.1 billion in the last three months of last year.

In 2010, China's current account surplus surged 17 percent on year to $305.4 billion, according to the revised data, as US and European demand for Chinese exports recovered after the global financial crisis.

While rising demand for Chinese goods boosts growth, it also means the central bank has to work harder to control the value of the yuan and to stem the flood of liquidity, which has been fuelling inflation.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011