BEIJING - China's foreign exchange regulator said Thursday that the country's current account surplus would account for around 3 percent of the GDP in 2011.

The ratio hit a record high of 10.1 percent in 2007 and has since seen a steady decline, as the government moves to promote the balance of international payments, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement on its website.

The 3-percent figure falls within a "reasonable range" on international standards, the statement said.

The improvement comes as China has taken a slew of measures to revamp its growth model and adjust its foreign trade policies. Meanwhile, the waning eternal demands due to the worldwide slowdown also contribute to the narrowing trade surplus in China, SAFE said.

Despite the dwindling export growth, SAFE forecast that China's international balance sheet will retain a surplus this year, as China's savings-prone structure is unlikely to change in the short term.

Moreover, foreign capital will continue to flow into China as the outside economic shocks will not hamper China's steady and relatively fast growth, SAFE said.

China's surplus under the current account reached $145.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2011.