China maintained a high international payments surplus under its current and capital accounts in 2006, according to official statistics released on Thursday.

The surplus of current accounts totaled 249.9 billion U.S. dollars, and the surplus of capital accounts was ten billion dollars, according to the balance of international payments statement released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Thursday.

Driven by a "double surplus", China's foreign exchange reserves had reached 1.202 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of March 2007, up 37.36 percent on the previous year.

"To a certain extent, the surge is caused by a surplus of domestic savings against investment and a surplus of domestic supply against demand," the statement said.

Huge foreign direct investment in China and an increasing imbalance in global economics and finance also contributed to the surge, it said.

Recognizing that "the imbalance of China's international payments had deepened", SAFE said that efforts had to be made to avoid risks and to ensure financial security since international payments are having an increasing influence on the country's economy.

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