Chinese foreign exchange reserves, the world's second-biggest after Japan, stood at $415.72 billion at the end of February, unchanged from the month earlier, the central bank said on Monday.
Taking a rare pause from relentless rises over recent years, the level of China's foreign currency coffers stayed flat in February as the country posted a trade deficit of $7.87 billion that month.
The reserves rose $12.5 billion in January to $415.72 billion as more "hot money", or speculative funds, poured into China amid speculation it will allow its fixed currency to rise in value.
The strong inflows have made it tough for Beijing to rein in rapid money and credit growth that have helped trigger inflation and cause overheating in some industries, analysts say.