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In order to improve the transparency of the release of foreign exchange administration data and further facilitate the public's access to and use of the balance of payments and the relevant data, the Schedule for the Release of the Balance of Payments and Relevant Data (see the Annex) is hereby published. FILE: Schedule for the Release of the Balance of Payments and Rele 2012-07-13/en/2012/0713/1056.html
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Recently, in order to improve the transparency of the balance of payments statistical data, the SAFE prepared and published China’s Quarterly Balance of Payments Statements from 1998 to 2009 (see Annex I) prepared on the basis of the historical data, and simultaneously published the Annual Balance of Payments Statements from 1998 to 2009 (see Annex II) prepared on the basis of the quarterly accumulated data on a yearly basis. The data in the Quarterly Balance of Payments Statements published at this time strictly follow the requirements of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual, Fifth Edition, and the data on such items as reserve assets, relevant profits from foreign direct investment in China, and foreign aid from government departments have been adjusted, further extending the length of the Balance of Payments Quarterly Time Series Data. Thus, China ’s Balance of Payments Statements include annual time series data from 1982 and quarterly time series data from 1998. For the complete time series data, see the column “Statistical Data.” 2012-07-30/en/2012/0730/1061.html
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Editor’s note: The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) recently conscientiously studied and implemented the spirit of the National Financial Work Conference, comprehensively summarized the practice of reform and development of foreign exchange administration during the past five years, and set forth the tasks for foreign exchange administration during the next period. During the last five years, the SAFE, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the theme of scientific development, the main line of accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development, and the essential financial requirements serving the real economy, closely focusing on the central task of promoting a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, unswervingly carrying forward the reform of the foreign exchange administration system, energetically promoting the facilitation of trade and investment, sticking to the risk limits, establishing a system and mechanism for protection against the risks of cross-border capital flows, successfully dealing with the impact of the international financial crisis, effectively guarding against economic and financial risks, and effectively promoting the steady and rapid development of the national economy. In order to better implement the spirit of the National Financial Work Conference and to facilitate learning among various social circles about the progress in the reform and development of foreign exchange administrations, we will provide a detailed description of relevant information related to several special topics. Special Topic I An Interview with a Relevant Official of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues Concerning the Balance-of-Payments Situation Question 1: One of the current main targets of macro-control in China is to promote a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments. How much progress has been achieved in reaching this target? Answer: The CPC Central Committee and the State Council place high priority on the development of an internal and external equilibrium in the economy, treat the promotion of an equilibrium in the balance of payments as an important task to maintain macro-economic stabilization, and is actively “expanding domestic demand, adjusting the structure, reducing the surplus, and promoting a balance of payments.” In recent years, this work has gradually achieved results, and the balance of payments is approaching a basic equilibrium. In 2007, the proportion of the surplus in China ’s current account to GDP reached a historic high of 10.1 percent; in 2008, the proportion fell to about 9 percent; and in 2009 and 2010, the proportion fell to about 5 percent. In 2011 the proportion of China ’s current account surplus to GDP is expected to be about 3 percent, which is well within the internationally accepted reasonable range. Question 2: What is the main reason for the continuous improvement in China ’s balance-of-payments situation? Answer: There are internal reasons as well as external reasons, structural factors as well as cyclical factors, and the effect of the market as well as the influence of policy. First, accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development and adjusting the economic structure to substantially promote an improvement in the balance-of-payments situation. In recent years, the harmony and endogeneity of China ’s economic development have been further improved, and the growth of three major demands, investment, consumption, and exports, has become more balanced. In 2011, the contribution rate of domestic demand to China ’s economic growth was 106 percent, of which the contribution rate of final consumption increased from 37 percent in 2010 to 52 percent in 2011. Second, accelerating policy adjustments for the foreign economy, gradually eliminating the structural and institutional obstacles that affect the balance of payments equilibrium. In terms of trade policy, China has given full play to the role of imports in the macro-economic equilibrium and structural adjustment. Beginning from 2008, the import growth rate has exceeded the export growth rate. In 2011 the trade surplus decreased by 48 percent compared with 2008. In terms of foreign investment policy, China continuously accelerated implementation of the development strategy of “Going Out.” During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, the annual net outflow of China ’s overseas direct investments has been USD 39.1 billion, 8.7 times the figure during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. In terms of foreign exchange administration policy, on the one hand, China strengthened monitoring of cross-border capital flows and intensified efforts to crack down on hot money inflows; on the other hand, China actively promoted facilitation of trade and investment and encouraged institutions and individuals to hold and use foreign exchange. Third, changes and developments in international economic and financial situations promoted an improvement in China ’s balance-of-payments situation. Beginning from 2008, world economic growth has been slowing down, the international financial turmoil has been becoming worse, and there has been a continuous trend of global deleveraging. On the one hand, this placed constraints on the growth of foreign demand and resulted in the narrowing of the surplus of trade in goods; on the other hand, this stimulated periodic outflows of arbitrage capital from China and intensified fluctuations in cross-border capital flows. Question 3: Specifically, in terms of promoting a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, what measures are being taken by the foreign exchange authorities? Answer: In recent years, the foreign exchange authorities have been treating scientific development as the theme, and the acceleration of the transformation in the pattern of economic development as the main line, and have actively cooperated with the macro-control by the state and have taken measures in different areas to control inflows, promote outflows, reduce the surplus, and promote the balance of payments. First, strengthening the monitoring and early warning system for the bidirectional flow of cross-border capital and the balanced management of outflows and inflows of cross-border capital; second, continuously enriching the tools for managing cross-border capital flows, improving the emergency response plan, and effectively guarding against the risks of massive cross-border capital flows; third, intensifying management of unusual capital inflows, emphasizing priorities, and rigorously cracking down on illegal and irregular capital inflows; fourth, promoting reform in key areas and key links of foreign exchange administration, expanding the channel for the utilization of foreign exchange funds, developing the foreign exchange market, and continuously improving the market mechanism and management system for the adjustment of the balance of payments. The above measures have achieved initial results. In 2011 the cross-border receipt and payment surplus and the foreign exchange settlement and sales surplus of the non-bank sector decreased by 9 percent and 8 percent respectively from the last year, and the increment in foreign exchange reserves (setting aside the changes in the exchange rate and asset prices) decreased 18 percent; a unilateral appreciation of the RMB was expected to fail, and there was an initial bidirectional fluctuating pattern in the RMB exchange rate. Question 4: In 2012, how will China ’s balance-of-payments situation develop and change? Answer: At the end of 2011, under the combined influence of domestic and foreign factors, market and policy factors, as well as other factors, fluctuations in China ’s cross-border capital flows intensified and pressures of capital outflows suddenly increased. It is expected that in 2012 China’s balance of payments will still maintain a surplus; however, the surplus will decrease amidst more fluctuations, and the balance of payments will further approach an equilibrium. The main reasons are as follows: First, due to the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis, the recovery of the world economy is very slow, and this will adversely affect China’s export growth; however, China’s structural problem whereby there are more savings than investments will be difficult to resolve in the short term; therefore, China’s current account, including trade in goods, will hopefully continue to maintain a surplus. Second, China accelerated the transformation of the pattern of economic development and actively implemented policies and measures to enlarge domestic consumption demand and promote imports; foreign trade development has become more balanced, and the receipts and payments under the current account are further approaching an equilibrium. Third, external impacts will not change the long-term trend whereby China ’s economy will maintain steady and rapid development, and international capital, in particular long-term capital, will continue to flow into China . Fourth, it will be difficult to resolve the structural problems of the developed countries in the short term, various contradictions will be intertwined with one another, and international economic and financial turmoil will continue; therefore, China may face the risk of frequent flows of cross-border capital, even periodic outflows of arbitrage capital. Question 5: In terms of promoting a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, what measures will be taken by China in the future? Answer: Despite the fact that at the end of 2011, China ’s foreign exchange reserve growth had slowed down with the emergence of the pressure of capital outflows, the increment for the whole year was still significant. Furthermore, many fundamental factors that resulted in the balance of payments surplus have still not changed, and the external environment will continue to be subject to uncertainties; therefore, efforts to promote a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments cannot be reduced. The Twelfth Five-Year Plan has already established that one of the main targets of economic and social development for the next five years will be that “the balance of payments will approach a basic equilibrium.” From a macro perspective, through structural adjustments China will further enlarge domestic demand, in particular consumption demand, transform the economic growth mode from one mainly depending on investment and exports to one that is driven by consumption, investments, and exports; China will promote more balanced foreign trade, accelerate implementation of the “Going Out” strategy, and take various measures to promote a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange authorities will further strengthen monitoring of unusual cross-border capital flows, establish a system and mechanism for guarding against the impact of bidirectional flows of cross-border capital, deepen the reform in key areas, steadily promote convertibility under the capital account, and cultivate and develop the foreign exchange market. 2012-03-26/en/2012/0326/1037.html
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At the end of September 2011, China’s outstanding external debt (excluding that of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province) reached USD697.164 billion. Specifically, the outstanding registered external debt was USD440.564 billion and the balance of trade credit between enterprises was USD256.6 billion. With respect to the term structure, the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD189.539 billion, accounting for 27.19 percent of the outstanding external debt. The outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD507.625 billion, accounting for 72.81 percent of the outstanding external debt. Specifically, the outstanding registered short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD251.025 billion and the balance of trade credit between enterprises was USD256.6 billion. In terms of the composition of the short-term external debt, at the end of September 2011 the balance of trade-related credit was USD374.996 billion, accounting for 73.87 percent of the outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term). Specifically, the trade credit between enterprises and bank trade financing accounted for 50.55 percent and 23.32 percent respectively. As trade-related credit is mainly based on real import and export trade, the growth of such payments is basically consistent with that of import and export trade in China; therefore, the increase in the proportion of this short-term external debt will not affect the security of China’s external debt. In terms of types of debtors, the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded financial institutions was USD209.605 billion, accounting for 47.58 percent of the outstanding registered external debt; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded enterprises was USD132.027 billion, accounting for 29.97 percent; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded financial institutions was USD54.373 billion, accounting for 12.34 percent; the outstanding sovereign debt borrowed by ministries under the State Council was USD38.597 billion, accounting for 8.76 percent; the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded enterprises was USD5.797 billion, accounting for 1.31 percent; and the outstanding debt of other institutions was USD 165 million, accounting for 0.04 percent. In terms of types of debt, the balance of international commercial loans amounted to USD370.998 billion, accounting for 84.21 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, with the proportion rising by 4.23 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. The balance of foreign government loans and of loans granted by international financial organizations amounted to USD69.566 billion, accounting for 15.79 percent. In terms of the currency structure, debt in U.S. dollars accounted for 75.81 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. Debt in Japanese yen accounted for 8.11 percent, representing a decline of 0.45 percentage point compared with the end of 2010. Debt in euro accounted for 7.21 percent, representing a rise of 2.8 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. Other kinds of debt, including SDRs and HKD, accounted for 8.87 percent, a decline of 7.75 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. In terms of the sectors in which the debt is invested, based on the Industrial Classifications of the National Economy, USD53.482 billion was invested in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 24.24 percent of the medium- and long-term outstanding registered external debt (based on contract terms); USD27.677 billion was invested in the transportation sector, the warehousing sector, and the postal-services sector, accounting for 12.54 percent; USD17.354 billion was invested in the production and supply of electric power, coal, gas, and water, accounting for 7.87 percent; USD8.152 billion was invested in the information technology services sector, accounting for 3.69 percent; and USD10.69 billion was invested in the real estate sector, accounting for 4.85 percent. From January to September 2011, medium- and long-term external borrowing totaled USD33.948 billion, an increase of USD6.101 billion, or 21.91 percent, on a year-on-year basis; Repayment of the principal totaled USD20.961 billion, an increase of USD3.057 billion, or 17.07, percent, on a year-on-year basis; Interest payments totaled USD1.779 billion, a year-on-year decrease of USD252 million, or 12.41 percent. Net inflows under the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt totaled USD11.208 billion, up 41.66 percent on a year-on-year basis. 2012-01-18/en/2012/0118/1029.html
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At the end of September 2011, China’s outstanding external debt (excluding that of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province) reached USD697.164 billion. Specifically, the outstanding registered external debt was USD440.564 billion and the balance of trade credit between enterprises was USD256.6 billion. With respect to the term structure, the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD189.539 billion, accounting for 27.19 percent of the outstanding external debt. The outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD507.625 billion, accounting for 72.81 percent of the outstanding external debt. Specifically, the outstanding registered short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD251.025 billion and the balance of trade credit between enterprises was USD256.6 billion. In terms of the composition of the short-term external debt, at the end of September 2011 the balance of trade-related credit was USD374.996 billion, accounting for 73.87 percent of the outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term). Specifically, the trade credit between enterprises and bank trade financing accounted for 50.55 percent and 23.32 percent respectively. As trade-related credit is mainly based on real import and export trade, the growth of such payments is basically consistent with that of import and export trade in China; therefore, the increase in the proportion of this short-term external debt will not affect the security of China’s external debt. In terms of types of debtors, the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded financial institutions was USD209.605 billion, accounting for 47.58 percent of the outstanding registered external debt; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded enterprises was USD132.027 billion, accounting for 29.97 percent; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded financial institutions was USD54.373 billion, accounting for 12.34 percent; the outstanding sovereign debt borrowed by ministries under the State Council was USD38.597 billion, accounting for 8.76 percent; the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded enterprises was USD5.797 billion, accounting for 1.31 percent; and the outstanding debt of other institutions was USD 165 million, accounting for 0.04 percent. In terms of types of debt, the balance of international commercial loans amounted to USD370.998 billion, accounting for 84.21 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, with the proportion rising by 4.23 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. The balance of foreign government loans and of loans granted by international financial organizations amounted to USD69.566 billion, accounting for 15.79 percent. In terms of the currency structure, debt in U.S. dollars accounted for 75.81 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. Debt in Japanese yen accounted for 8.11 percent, representing a decline of 0.45 percentage point compared with the end of 2010. Debt in euro accounted for 7.21 percent, representing a rise of 2.8 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. Other kinds of debt, including SDRs and HKD, accounted for 8.87 percent, a decline of 7.75 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. In terms of the sectors in which the debt is invested, based on the Industrial Classifications of the National Economy, USD53.482 billion was invested in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 24.24 percent of the medium- and long-term outstanding registered external debt (based on contract terms); USD27.677 billion was invested in the transportation sector, the warehousing sector, and the postal-services sector, accounting for 12.54 percent; USD17.354 billion was invested in the production and supply of electric power, coal, gas, and water, accounting for 7.87 percent; USD8.152 billion was invested in the information technology services sector, accounting for 3.69 percent; and USD10.69 billion was invested in the real estate sector, accounting for 4.85 percent. From January to September 2011, medium- and long-term external borrowing totaled USD33.948 billion, an increase of USD6.101 billion, or 21.91 percent, on a year-on-year basis; Repayment of the principal totaled USD20.961 billion, an increase of USD3.057 billion, or 17.07, percent, on a year-on-year basis; Interest payments totaled USD1.779 billion, a year-on-year decrease of USD252 million, or 12.41 percent. Net inflows under the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt totaled USD11.208 billion, up 41.66 percent on a year-on-year basis. 2012-01-04/en/2012/0104/1020.html
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The SAFE recently released the Preliminary Data on China’s Balance of Payments Statement for the Third Quarter of 2011. The current account and the capital and financial account posted a “twin surplus” in Q3 of 2011, and international reserves maintained their growing momentum. In Q3, the surplus under the current account totaled USD57.8 billion. Specifically, according to the statistical coverage of the balance of payments, the surpluses in goods and current transfers reached USD85.3 billion and USD6.9 billion respectively, whereas the deficit in trade in services and income amounted to USD20.2 billion and USD14.1 billion respectively. Meanwhile, China’s surplus under the capital and financial account (including net errors and omissions) totaled USD33.9 billion. In particular, net inflows of direct investments amounted to USD35.9 billion. International reserve assets posted an increase of USD91.7 billion. Specifically, transactions in foreign exchange reserve assets registered an increase of USD92.1 billion (exclusive of the influence of non-transactional changes in value such as changes in the exchange rates and prices), the reserve position in the IMF registered a decline of USD300 million, and special drawing rights registered a decline of USD100 million. In the first three quarters of 2011, China’s surplus under the current account totaled USD145.6 billion and the ratio of the surplus under the current account to GDP was 3.0 percent. Meanwhile, this year China’s surplus under the capital and financial account totaled USD229.8 billion (including net errors and omissions). China’s international reserve assets posted an increase of USD375.4 billion. 2012-01-18/en/2012/0118/1024.html
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The SAFE recently released the Preliminary Data on China’s Balance of Payments Statement for the Third Quarter of 2011. The current account and the capital and financial account posted a “twin surplus” in Q3 of 2011, and international reserves maintained their growing momentum. In Q3, the surplus under the current account totaled USD57.8 billion. Specifically, according to the statistical coverage of the balance of payments, the surpluses in goods and current transfers reached USD85.3 billion and USD6.9 billion respectively, whereas the deficit in trade in services and income amounted to USD20.2 billion and USD14.1 billion respectively. Meanwhile, China’s surplus under the capital and financial account (including net errors and omissions) totaled USD33.9 billion. In particular, net inflows of direct investments amounted to USD35.9 billion. International reserve assets posted an increase of USD91.7 billion. Specifically, transactions in foreign exchange reserve assets registered an increase of USD92.1 billion (exclusive of the influence of non-transactional changes in value such as changes in the exchange rates and prices), the reserve position in the IMF registered a decline of USD300 million, and special drawing rights registered a decline of USD100 million. In the first three quarters of 2011, China’s surplus under the current account totaled USD145.6 billion and the ratio of the surplus under the current account to GDP was 3.0 percent. Meanwhile, this year China’s surplus under the capital and financial account totaled USD229.8 billion (including net errors and omissions). China’s international reserve assets posted an increase of USD375.4 billion. 2012-01-04/en/2012/0104/1019.html
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The SAFE recently released China ’s International Investment Position as of the end of June 2011. The statistics reveal that at the end of June 2011 China’s external financial assets hit USD4615.2 billion, external financial liabilities reached USD2630.1 billion, and external net financial assets totaled USD1985.1 billion. Among the external financial assets, direct investments abroad amounted to USD329.1 billion, portfolio investments USD260.4 billion, other investments USD755.1 billion, and reserve assets USD3270.6 billion, accounting for 7 percent, 6 percent, 16 percent, and 71 percent respectively. In terms of external financial liabilities, foreign direct investments totaled USD1583.8 billion, portfolio investments USD230.9 billion, and other investments USD815.4 billion, accounting for 60 percent, 9 percent, and 31 percent of external financial liabilities respectively. The International Investment Position (hereinafter referred to as the IIP) is a statistical statement reflecting the stocks of financial assets and liabilities of one country or region to other countries or regions in the world at one specific point; together with the Balance of Payments Statement (BOP Statement) it constitutes the complete international accounts system, indicating the country’s or region’s trade flows. FILE: China's International Investment Position(2011Q2) 2011-10-19/en/2011/1019/1017.html
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According to the statistical data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), in September 2011 the amount of foreign exchange settlements and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD142.6 billion and USD116.6 billion respectively. The surplus of foreign exchange settlements and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD26 billion. For the first nine months of 2011, the cumulative amount of foreign exchange settlements and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD1211.2 billion and USD830.5 billion respectively. The surplus of foreign exchange settlement and sales was USD380.7 billion. In September 2011, foreign-related receipts and payments by domestic banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD209 billion and USD197 billion respectively, and the surplus of foreign-related receipts and payments reached USD12 billion. For the first nine months 2011, the cumulative foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD1700.9 billion and USD1461.9 billion respectively; and the surplus of the cumulative foreign-related receipts and payments reached USD248 billion. 2011-10-31/en/2011/1031/1018.html
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According to statistical data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), in October 2011 the amount of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD115.2 billion and USD112.1 billion respectively. The surplus of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD3.2 billion. For the first ten months of 2011, the cumulative amount of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD1326.5 billion and USD942.6 billion respectively. The surplus of foreign exchange settlement and sales was USD383.9 billion. In October 2011, foreign-related receipts and payments of domestic banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD186.8 billion and USD175.9 billion respectively; and the surplus of foreign-related receipts and payments reached USD10.9 billion. In the first ten months 2011, the cumulative foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD1896.7 billion and USD1637.8 billion respectively; and the surplus of the cumulative foreign-related receipts and payments reached USD258.9 billion. 2012-01-18/en/2012/0118/1026.html