China ran a surplus under both the current account and the capital and financial account in the first quarter of this year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Friday.

The surplus under the current account totaled 40.9 billion U.S. dollars, down 48 percent year on year, with merchandise trade surplus standing at 29.4 billion U.S. dollars, according to preliminary data on China's first-quarter Balance of International Payments posted on the SAFE's website.

But China ran an 18-billion-U.S.-dollar service trade deficit during the same period, the statement said.

The surplus under the capital and financial account hit 55 billion U.S. dollars and net foreign direct investment (FDI) flows amounted to 17.5 billion U.S. dollars.

This was the first quarterly Balance of International Payments released by the SAFE.

China's foreign exchange reserves reached a new high of 2.4471 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of March, up 25.25 percent year on year.