BEIJING, Nov. 3 -- China's current account surplus was 208.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of the year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said Friday.

Of the total, the surplus under trade in goods came in at 454.2 billion dollars, and the deficit under trade in services was 168.2 billion dollars, data released by the administration shows.

Thanks in part to various government policies, China's foreign trade has expanded quarter by quarter this year, supporting a reasonable current account surplus, said Wang Chunying, spokesperson for the administration.

Tourism and transportation remained the two sectors that registered major deficits. The shortfall in the tourism sector reached 130.3 billion dollars, while the transportation industry reported a deficit of 63.3 billion dollars.

The ratio of current account surplus to gross domestic product stood at 1.6 percent during the period, remaining within a reasonable range, said Wang.

Despite a complicated external environment, the Chinese economy has maintained its recovery trend and growth momentum, which will continue to underpin the basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, the spokesperson said.