China's analysts said that the country's foreign exchange reserves will expand at a slower pace as its structure of foreign trade becomes increasingly balanced.

China's foreign exchange reserves hit a historic high of 3.04 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of March, representing an increase of 24.4 percent year on year, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), its central bank, said Thursday in a statement.

Strong economic growth fueled reserves boost

From the beginning of China's reform and opening up in 1978 to 2000, China's foreign exchange reserves experienced slow and unsteady growth. By the end of 2000, the reserves figure stood at just 166 billion U.S. dollars.