A bank cashier is counting yuan and dollars in Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province.(File photo: Zhang Chunlei/Xinhua)

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China saw a current account deficit in the first quarter of this year amid disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current account deficit stood at 33.7 billion U.S. dollars in Q1, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed.

The capital and financial account recorded a surplus of 11.1 billion dollars.

Goods trade posted a surplus of 23.1 billion dollars, while trade in services saw a deficit of 47 billion dollars.

During the period, the net inflow of foreign direct investment was 34.3 billion dollars, an indication that foreign capital was strongly drawn to China, said Wang Chunying, SAFE spokeswoman and chief economist.

China's balance of payments remained generally balanced in Q1, with stable capital flows, Wang said.

As business and production activities in China are gradually getting back on track, the balance of payments will stay stable in the future, she said, citing the country's sound economic fundamentals and opening-up moves. Enditem