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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released the data on banks' foreign exchange sales and settlement and their foreign exchange receipts and payments for clients for July 2018. The SAFE press spokesperson answered media questions on recent cross-border capital flows. Q: What would you say about China's cross-border capital flows in July? A: The supply and demand of China’s foreign exchange market maintains overall stability and the foreign-related transaction behaviors of market players are rational and orderly. First, the balance of foreign exchange reserves has risen steadily. The balance stood at USD3,117.9 billion at the end of July, up by USD5.8 billion from the end of June. Second, the deficit of banks’ settlement and sales of foreign exchange and cross-border receipts and payments narrowed year on year. In July, the deficit of banks’ foreign exchange settlement and sales was USD9.4 billion, down by 39% year on year. Specifically, the deficit of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks for clients reached USD400 million, indicating that enterprises and individuals tend to become more balanced in foreign exchange settlement and sales. The deficit of foreign-related receipts and payments of domestic enterprises and other non-banking sectors stood at USD12 billion, down by 45% year on year. Third, the willingness of market players for foreign exchange settlement has risen month on month, witnessing slight increase of foreign exchange sales rate. In July, the ratio of foreign exchange settlements by bank clients to the foreign-related foreign exchange receipts was 73%, up by 5 percentage points month on month, which was the highest since July 2015; while the ratio of foreign exchange purchases by bank clients to the foreign-related foreign exchange payments was 67%, up by 3 percentage points, which is still low in recent years. The opening-up policy continued to play its role, with overseas capital flowing in continuously, and the foreign exchange purchase by enterprises and individuals maintained stable. On the one hand, cross-border capital inflows under direct investment and securities investment etc. increased on the whole. In July, foreign-related receipts under direct investment reached USD34.5 billion, up by 46% year on year and up by 87% cumulatively since the beginning of this year; foreign-related receipts under securities investment stood at USD23 billion, up by 1.6 times year on year and up by 1.5 times cumulatively since the beginning of this year. Under this circumstance, foreign exchange settlement under direct investment and securities investment has also presented an upward trend as compared with the same period last year. On the other hand, the foreign exchange purchase by market players through major channels remained stable on the whole. In July, foreign exchange purchase under enterprises’ ODI and investment income both registered year-on-year decline, and the net foreign exchange purchase of individuals decreased by 12% and 13% on year-on-year and month-on-month basis respectively. Since the beginning of this year, the international financial market has witnessed considerably increasing volatility. However, due to the overall stable operation of domestic economy and steady progress of opening-up, China’s cross-border capital flows have maintained the development trend of overall stability and basic equilibrium, and the elasticity of RMB exchange rate has been further strengthened. In the future, the fundamentals of China’s economy in strong resilience and adaptability as well as ample room for maneuver will remain unchanged and will continue to serve as the basis for the stable operation of foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, China will adhere to the objective of reform and opening-up. As relevant measures are pressed ahead with and cross-border capital flow management framework is continuously improved, the activity and stability of China’s cross-border capital flow will be further strengthened, which is conducive to maintaining the independent equilibrium of balance of payments and adapting to the development and changes of market environment. 2018-08-17/en/2018/1115/1474.html
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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released data on banks' foreign exchange sales and settlement and their foreign-related receipts and payments for customers forOctober 2018. The SAFE press spokesperson Wang Chunying answered media questions on cross-border capital flow situations in October. Q: What would you say about China's cross-border capital flows in October? A: China’s deficit in foreign-related receipts and payments narrowed substantially, with cross-border capital flows remaining stable on the whole, and supply and demand on the foreign exchange market maintained basic equilibrium. In this month, banks posted deficit of USD2.9 billion in foreign exchange settlement and sales, down by 83% from September. The non-banking sectors such as domestic enterprises registered a deficit of USD7.4 billion in foreign-related receipts and payments, narrowing by 73% on a month-by-month basis. Specifically, foreign exchange receipts and payments turned from deficit in September to a surplus of USD4.6 billion. The deficit in foreign exchange settlement and sales and foreign-related receipts and payments in October fell significantly, indicating that China’s cross-border capital flows are still showing two-way fluctuations and overall steady development. In the first ten months of this year, banks' deficit in foreign exchange settlement and sales declined 72% year on year, while foreign-related receipts and payments decreased 43% on a year-on-year basis. Foreign exchange transactions of market players are stable and rational, and foreign exchange market has been operating normally and orderly. First, the settlement of FDI increased steadily, with the settlement of FDI capital in October increasing by 11% year on year. Second, the foreign exchange purchase by enterprises forODI is rational and stable. In October, the purchase of foreign change with ODI capital was basically the same with that of the same period last year. Third, foreign exchange purchase with investment income fell seasonally and declined on the whole. In October,relevant foreign exchange purchase decreased by 55% month on month, while the figure of the first ten months this year fell by 16% on a year-on-year basis. Fourth, the foreign exchange settlement and sales of individuals remained rational. In October, net purchase of foreign exchange by individuals was stable with slight decline, down by 6% from September. Fifth, the contracts for forward settlement and sales of foreign exchange showed a slight surplus of USD2.8 billion, up from a surplus of USD300 million in September. At present, the global economic and financial operation is confronted with some uncertainties, and China still has some advantages in coping with them. First of all, in the complex and changing international environment, China’s stable economic and political patterns have become more prominent, the intensity of reform and opening-up has been more highlighted, and the huge market potential has become more attractive. China will persist in advancing structural reform at the supply side and doing a good job in stabilizing employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, investment and expectations, which is expected to effectively cope with changes in external environment and lay a solid foundation for the overall stability of China’s foreign exchange market.Secondly, the two-way floating elasticity of RMB exchange rate has been enhanced in recent years, and market players have become more rational in the face of changes in foreign exchange market situations. Meanwhile, China has accumulated rich practical experience and adequate policy tools in coping with such situations, and can play a more flexible role in macro-prudential regulation to maintain stability of the foreign exchange market. 2018-11-15/en/2018/1115/1473.html
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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently disseminated the preliminary data on the balance of payments for the third quarter and the first three quarters of 2018. The SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying answered media questions on relevant issues. Q: Could you brief us on the new characteristics of the balance of payments for the third quarter of 2018, relative to the second quarter? A: The preliminary data on the balance of payments for the third quarter show surplus under the current account and deficit under the financial account (excluding reserve assets, but including net error and omission for the same quarter, the same as below). The main characteristics are as follows: Firstly, the surplus under the current account continued to pick up. In the third quarter, the surplus under the current account stood at USD 16 billion, up by 200% from the second quarter. Specifically, the surplus of trade in goods and services was USD 18.6 billion, among which, the surplus of trade in goods in the BOP was USD 100.8 billion and the deficit of trade in services USD 82.2 billion. Primary income was changed from deficit of USD 20.7 billion in the second quarter to surplus of USD 1.1 billion, which is mainly attributed to the rapid increase in income of various outbound investments in the third quarter. The secondary income posts a deficit of USD 3.7 billion, representing a slight decline. Secondly, the financial account (excluding reserve assets) showed a deficit. In the third quarter of 2018, the financial account (excluding reserve assets) registered a deficit of USD 18.8 billion. Specifically, direct investment recorded a net inflow of USD 1.3 billion, among which, ODI registered a net outflow of USD 23 billion, and FDI recorded a net inflow of USD 24.3 billion. Besides, based on incomplete statistics,portfolio investments in the third quarter showed a net inflow of nearly USD 50 billion, while other investment such as deposit and loan registered a net outflow of roughly USD 10 billion. Thirdly, reserve assets fell slightly. In the third quarter of 2018, China's reserve assets decreased by USD 3 billion due to the BOP transactions (excluding the impact of non-transaction factors such as exchange rate and price), among which, foreign exchange reserves decreased by USD 3.1 billion. Overall, China's balance of payments continued to maintain the equilibrium in the third quarter of 2018. Since China's economic operation has maintained stability while ensuring progress, the transformation and upgrade has been further promoted and quality and efficiency has been steadily improved, China's current account balance will remain within a reasonable range in the future, and the cross-border capital will maintain bi-directional flow and overall equilibrium. 2018-11-05/en/2018/1105/1470.html
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Q: The latest data released by the People's Bank of China on foreign exchange reserves show that China's foreign exchange reserves as at the end of July 2018 rose by USD 5.8 billion month on month. Could you tell us why such a change occurred? What would you say about the future trends of foreign exchange reserves? A: As at the end of July 2018, China's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3,117.9 billion, up by USD 5.8 billion or 0.19% month on month. In July, China's cross-border capital flow was generally stable and the foreign exchange market maintained a basic equilibrium in supply and demand. Under the combined impact of the basically unchanged US dollar index, the slightly fluctuated price of financial assets, the exchange rate translation of major non-USD currencies and the asset price changes in global financial markets, China’s foreign exchange reserves steadily increased. Since the beginning of this year, the global financial markets have become increasingly volatile, witnessing the rising of both the exchange rate and interest rate of US dollar. Some emerging economies have been hit hard, global trade frictions have intensified, and the complexity and uncertainty of the external environment have both increased remarkably. Against this backdrop, China's economy remained stable and gained momentum for growth. Preliminary results have been achieved in guarding against and mitigating financial risks, with the economic structure continuously optimized, the foreign exchange market operating stable in general, and the flexibility of RMB exchange rate remarkably strengthened. Looking ahead, the international economic and financial environments will be complex and tough, global trade protectionism will continue aggravating, the macroeconomic policies of major countries will be diverging and the international financial market fluctuations will increase. However, China's economic and policy fundamentals are expected to still remain robust and cross-border capital flow and foreign exchange market operation will be able to maintain overall stability. Under such factors at home and abroad, China's foreign exchange reserves are expected to remain stable in fluctuation. 2018-08-07/en/2018/0807/1471.html
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Q: The latest data disseminated by the People's Bank of China on foreign exchange reserves show that China's foreign exchange reserves at the end of September 2018 dropped by USD 22.7 billion month on month. Could you tell us why such a change occurred? What would you say about the future trends of foreign exchange reserves? A: As at the end of September 2018, China's foreign exchange reserves recorded USD 3.087 trillion, down by USD 22.7 billion or 0.7% month on month. In September, China's foreign exchange market performed stably and the foreign-related transactions of market participants are rational and orderly. On the global financial markets, the US Dollar Index basically remained unchanged from the end of August, because the exchange rate of major non-USD currencies witnessed both rising and falling and the prices of major national bonds fell slightly. Due to the combined impact of exchange rate translation and asset price changes, China’s foreign exchange reserves fell slightly. In the year to date, in the face of complex external environment, China adhered to the general work guidelines of making progress while maintaining stability, and deepened reform and opening up. As a result, the economy maintained overall stability and gained momentum for growth, the economic structure was constantly optimized, the two-way fluctuation resilience of RMB exchange rate was continuously strengthened, the balance of payments maintained basic equilibrium, and China’s foreign exchange reserves remained stable. Looking ahead, although the external environment still contains great uncertainty, China's economy has a strong capability of adapting to and resisting external risks, and the sound fundamentals will continue to provide a solid foundation for the smooth operation of the foreign exchange market. Under such factors at home and abroad, China's foreign exchange reserves are expected to stay stable amid fluctuations. 2018-10-07/en/2018/1007/1469.html
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Q: The latest data released by the People's Bank of China on foreign exchange reserves show that China's foreign exchange reserves as at the end of August decreased by USD 8.2 billion month on month. Could you tell us why such a change occurred? What would you say about the future trends of foreign exchange reserves? A: As at the end of August 2018, China's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3,109.7 billion, down by USD 8.2 billion or 0.26% month on month. In August, the supply and demand of China's foreign exchange market remained stable and the cross-border capital flows maintained a basic equilibrium. Global trade frictions, geopolitical economic situations and other uncertainties continued to intensify, and the US dollar index rose in fluctuation. As a result, China's foreign exchange reserves declined slightly. Since the beginning of this year, there has been a remarkable increase in international political and economic risk factors, some emerging market economies have suffered from heavy shocks and the international financial market volatility has increased. However, China's foreign exchange reserves remained basic stability, mainly because China's economy maintained stability while ensuring progress and gained momentum for growth, the foreign exchange market operated smoothly and the flexibility of RMB exchange rate was further enhanced. Looking ahead, in spite of the complex international environment and rising uncertainties on financial markets, China's economy is expected to maintain the fundamentals of good resilience, strong adaptability and much leeway to improve. In the meanwhile, firmly adhering to the goal of reform and opening-up will be conducive to maintaining the adaptive equilibrium of the balance of payments. Under such factors at home and abroad, China's foreign exchange reserves are expected to remain stable in fluctuation. 2018-09-07/en/2018/1129/1472.html
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On October 30, Pan Gongsheng, administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) met with a delegation headed by Kanno Akatuki, President and CEO of Pinnacle Asset Management Inc. The two sides exchanged views on issues such as the opening-up of China's capital market and foreign investors' investment in Chinese market. According to Administrator Pan Gongsheng, China has sound economic fundamentals and the overall economic performance is stable, the economic structure has been constantly optimized and the potential for endogenous growth is tremendous. Presently, the overall stock market valuation is at a historically low level. With the increasing openness of the capital market to the outside world and the inclusion into the major global stock and bond indexes, it will provide a broader market for global investors. 2018-11-01/en/2018/1101/1468.html
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On September 1, 2023, Pan Gongsheng, the PBOC Governor and SAFE Administrator, met with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They exchanged views on issues including global and Chinese economic developments as well as the cooperation between China and the IMF. 2023-09-01/en/2023/0901/2114.html
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Selected Transactions in the Chinese Foreign Exchange Market in 2020 (in RMB) Selected Transactions in the Chinese Foreign Exchange Market in 2020 (in USD) 2021-01-29/en/2019/0920/1562.html
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In August 2019, China’s international trade in goods and services recorded receipts of RMB 1621.6 billion and payments of RMB 1506.5 billion based on statistics of balance of payments (BOP), registering a surplus of RMB 115.1 billion. Specifically, trade in goods registered receipts of RMB 1487.3 billion,payments of RMB 1186.7billion, recording a surplus of RMB 300.6 billion; trade in services recorded receipts of RMB 134.3billion,payments of RMB 319.8billion, resulting in a deficit of RMB 185.5billion. In the US dollar terms, in August 2019, China's BOP-based receipts and payments of international trade in goods and services were USD 231billion and USD 214.6billion respectively, registering a surplus of USD 16.4 billion. Specifically, the receipts and payments from trade in goods were USD 211.8billion and USD 169billion respectively, resulting in a surplus of USD 42.8billion. Trade in services registered receipts and payments of USD 19.1 billion and USD 45.5 billion respectively, recording a deficitof USD 26.4 billion. (End) International Trade in Goods and Services of China (Based on the BOP statistics) August 2019 Item In 100 million of RMB In 100 million of USD Goods and services 1,151 164 Credit 16,216 2310 Debit -15,065 -2146 1. Goods 3,006 428 Credit 14,873 2118 Debit -11,867 -1690 2. Services -1,855 -264 Credit 1,343 191 Debit -3,198 -455 2.1 Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others 85 12 Credit 87 12 Debit -3 0 2.2 Maintenance and repair services n.i.e 18 3 Credit 40 6 Debit -22 -3 2.3 Transport -415 -59 Credit 266 38 Debit -681 -97 2.4 Travel -1,436 -205 Credit 196 28 Debit -1,632 -232 2.5 Construction 28 4 Credit 92 13 Debit -64 -9 2.6 Insurance and pension services -29 -4 Credit 28 4 Debit -58 -8 2.7 Financial services 8 1 Credit 19 3 Debit -12 -2 2.8 Charges for the use of intellectual property -182 -26 Credit 32 5 Debit -214 -30 2.9 Telecommunications, computer and information services 16 2 Credit 183 26 Debit -167 -24 2.10 Other business services 112 16 Credit 387 55 Debit -275 -39 2.11 Personal, cultural, and recreational services -15 -2 Credit 4 1 Debit -19 -3 2.12Government goods and services n.i.e -44 -6 Credit 9 1 Debit -53 -7 Notes: 1. The trade in goods and services in this table refers to the transactions between residents and non-residents, based on the same standard as that for BOP statement. The monthly dataare preliminary and may be inconsistent with the quarterly data in the BOP statement. 2. The data on international trade in goods and services are prepared in USD, and the RMB data for the current month is derived by converting the USD data at the monthly average central parityrate of the RMB against the USD. 3. This table employs rounded-off numbers. Definition of Indicators: Goods and Services: refers to the trade in goods and services between residents and non-residents, which is based on the samestandard as that for the BOP statement. 1. Goods:refers to transactions in goods whereby the economic ownership is transferred between the Chinese residents and non-residents. The credit side records export of goods, while the debit side records import of goods. The data of goods account are mainly from the customs statistics of imports and exports, butdiffer from the statistics of the customs mainly in the following aspects:first, the goods in the BOP statement only reflect the goods whose ownership has been transferred (e.g. goods under the trade modes such as general tradeand processing trade with imported materials), while the goods whose ownership is not transferred (e.g. manufacturing services with suppliedmaterials or with exported materials) are included in the statistics of tradein services instead of the statistics of trade in goods; second, as required by the BOP statistics, the goods imported and exported are valued on the FOB basis, but as required by the customs, the goods exported are valued on the FOBbasis, whereas goods imported are on the CIF basis. Therefore, for the purpose of the BOP statistics, the international transport and insurance premiums aretaken out from the value of imported goods and included in the trade inservices; and third, the data on net export of goods in merchanting which arenot included in the customs statistics are supplemented. 2. Services:includes manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others,maintenance and repair services n.i.e, transport, travel,construction, insurance and pension services, financial services, charges forthe use of intellectual property, telecommunications, computer and information services, other business services, personal, cultural and recreational services, and government goods and services n.i.e. The credit side recordsservices supplied, while the debit side records services received. 2.1 Manufacturing services on physical owned by others: processor only provides processing, assembly, packaging and other services and charges service fee from the owner, while the ownership of the goods isnot transferred between the owner and the processor. The credit side recordsthe manufacturing services supplied by the Chinese residents on physical inputs owned by non-residents, and vice versa for debitside. 2.2 Maintenance and repair services: referto the maintenance and repair services supplied by residents to non-residentsor vice versa on goods and equipment (such as vessel, aircraft, and other transportation facility) owned by the receiving party. The credit side recordsthe maintenance and repair services supplied by the Chinese residents tonon-residents, andvice versa for debit side. 2.3 Transport:refers to the process of transporting people and goods from one place toanother, and the relevant supporting and auxiliary services, as well as postaland delivery services. The credit side records the international transport,postal and delivery services supplied by residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debitside. 2.4 Travel:refers to goods consumed and services purchased by travelers in various economies as non-residents. The credit side records the goods and servicesprovided by the Chinese residents to non-residents who have stayed in China forless than one year, as well as non-residents studying abroad and seeking medical treatment for indefinite period of stay. The debit side records thegoods and services purchased by the Chinese residents when traveling, studyingor seeking medical services abroad from non-residents. 2.5 Construction services:refer to the establishment, renovation, maintenance or expansion of fixedassets in the form of buildings, land improvement, roads, bridges and dams andother engineering buildings of engineering nature, relevant installation,assembly, painting, pipeline construction, demolition and project management,as well as site preparation, measurement and blasting and other specialservices. The credit side records the construction services provided by theChinese residents outside the economic territory. The debit side records theconstruction services received by the Chinese residents in the Chinese economicterritory from non-residents. 2.6 Insuranceand pension services: refers to various insurance services and commission to agents related with insurancetransaction. The credit side records the life insurance and annuity, non-lifeinsurance, reinsurance, standardized guarantee services and relevant supportingservices supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debitside. 2.7 Financialservices: refer to financial intermediation and supporting services, excluding those covered by insurance and pensionservices. The credit side records the financial intermediation and supporting services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.8 Charges for the use of intellectual property:refer to licensed use of intangible, non-productive / non-financialassets and exclusive rights between residents and non-residents and thelicensed use of existing original works or prototypes. The credit side recordsthe intellectual property-related services supplied by the Chinese residents tonon-residents, andvice versa for debit side. 2.9 Telecommunications, computer andinformation services: refer to communications services between residents and non-residents and transactions ofservices related to computer data and news, excluding commercial services delivered via telephone, computer and Internet. The credit side records the telecommunications, computer and information services supplied by residents tonon-residents, andvice versa for debit side. 2.10 Other business services: refer to other types of services between residents and non-residents, including researchand development services, professional and management consulting services,technical and trade-related services. The credit side records the otherbusiness services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa fordebit side. 2.11 Personal,cultural and recreational services: referto transactions of personal, cultural and recreational services between residents and non-residents, including audiovisual and related services (films,radio, television programs and music recordings) and other personal, culturaland recreational services (health, education, etc.). The credit side records the related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debitside. 2.12 Governmentgoods and services n.i.e: refer tovarious goods and services provided and purchased by governments andinternational organizations not included in other categories of goods and services. The credit side records the goods and services not included elsewhere and supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2019-09-26/en/2019/0926/1564.html