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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently disseminated the data on banks' foreign-related receipts and payments for customers for January 2020. SAFE Press Spokesperson and Chief Economist Wang Chunying answered media questions on foreign exchange receipts and payments for January 2020. Q: Could you brief us on the situations of China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments in January 2020? What changes have occurred recently? A: China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments remained generally stable and the supply and demand of the foreign exchange market maintained a basic equilibrium in January. The highlights are as follows: Firstly, the foreign-related receipts and payments of non-banking sectors remained in surplus in January, which hit USD 7.4 billion, indicating net inflows have been maintained since December 2019. Secondly, based on the preliminary data, banks’ foreign exchange settlement and sales represented a slight surplus in the month. Considering the forward foreign exchange settlement and sales, options and other supply and demand factors, the supply-demand of the foreign exchange market was in a basic equilibrium. Thirdly, foreign exchange reserves rose steadily. The balance of foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3.1155 trillion at the end of January, up by USD 7.6 billion from the end of 2019. Fourthly, the cross-border capital flows via major channels were relatively stable, and foreign-related receipts and payments under trade in goods, direct investment and portfolio investment remained in surplus. Since the beginning of February, despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the foreign exchange market has maintained stable operation, showing the market is becoming more mature and rational. After a short adjustment, the RMB exchange rate has continued to show slight two-way fluctuations with both ups and downs. The supply and demand of foreign exchange market maintains a basic equilibrium, the foreign-related receipts and payments of non-banking sectors remain stable, and the foreign-related transactions of market players including enterprises and individuals are rational and orderly, indicating that China’s foreign exchange market has become more mature, and can better absorb and adapt to the impact of relevant events. Going forward, China’s foreign exchange market is expected to maintain stable operation, based on a solid foundation and favorable conditions. On the one hand, the impact of the epidemic will be short-lived and limited, while China’s economy is resilient, there’s ample room for macro-control policies, and the fundamentals sustaining sound and high-quality economic growth over the long term haven't changed, which will continue to bolster the stability of China’s foreign exchange market. On the other hand, China’s opening-up has been deepened, the domestic business environment has been improving, and the internationalization level of the capital market has been rising, which will continue to attract mid- and long-term investment. 2020-02-21/en/2020/0221/1639.html
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In January 2020, China’s international trade in services recorded receipts of RMB 115.6 billion, payments of RMB 268.8 billion, resulting in a deficit of RMB 153.2 billion. In the US dollar terms, in January 2020, China's international trade in services registered receipts and payments of USD 16.7 billion and USD 38.9 billion respectively, recording a deficit of USD 22.2billion. As the Customs statistics of trade in goods for January 2020 will be disseminated together with data for February 2020, international trade in goods for January 2020 will be disseminated together with data for February 2020 as well. (End) International Trade in Services of China (Based on the BOP statistics) January 2020 Item In 100 million of RMB In 100 million of USD 1. Services -1532 -222 Credit 1156 167 Debit -2688 -389 1.1Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others 78 11 Credit 80 12 Debit -3 0 1.2Maintenance and repair services n.i.e 10 1 Credit 28 4 Debit -18 -3 1.3Transport -319 -46 Credit 225 33 Debit -544 -79 1.4Travel -1269 -183 Credit 166 24 Debit -1435 -207 1.5Construction 8 1 Credit 56 8 Debit -48 -7 1.6Insurance and pension services -38 -6 Credit 16 2 Debit -55 -8 1.7Financial services 9 1 Credit 20 3 Debit -10 -1 1.8Charges for the use of intellectual property -124 -18 Credit 34 5 Debit -158 -23 1.9Telecommunications, computer and information services 25 4 Credit 153 22 Debit -128 -18 1.10Other business services 113 16 Credit 366 53 Debit -253 -37 1.11Personal, cultural, and recreational services -20 -3 Credit 3 0 Debit -23 -3 1.12Government goods and services n.i.e -5 -1 Credit 9 1 Debit -13 -2 Notes: 1. The trade in 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 data are preliminary and may be inconsistent with the quarterly data in the BOP statement. 2. The data on international trade in 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 parity rate of the RMB against the USD. 3. This table employs rounded-off numbers. Definition of Indicators: 1. 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 records services supplied, while the debit side records services received. 1.1 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 is not transferred between the owner and the processor. The credit side records the manufacturing services supplied by the Chinese residents on physical inputs owned by non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.2 Maintenanceand repair services: refer to the maintenance and repair services supplied by residents to non-residents or vice versa on goods and equipment (such as vessel, aircraft, and other transportation facility) owned by the receiving party. The credit side records the maintenance and repair services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.3 Transport:refers to the process of transporting people and goods from one place to another, and the relevant supporting and auxiliary services, as well as postal and delivery services. The credit side records the international transport, postal and delivery services supplied by residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.4 Travel:refers to goods consumed and services purchased by travelers in various economies as non-residents. The credit side records the goods and services provided by the Chinese residents to non-residents who have stayed in China for less than one year, as well as non-residents studying abroad and seeking medical treatment for indefinite period of stay. The debit side records the goods and services purchased by the Chinese residents when traveling, studying or seeking medical services abroad from non-residents. 1.5 Construction services: refer to the establishment, renovation, maintenance or expansion of fixed assets in the form of buildings, land improvement, roads, bridges and dams and other 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 special services. The credit side records the construction services provided by the Chinese residents outside the economic territory. The debit side records the construction services received by the Chinese residents in the Chinese economic territory from non-residents. 1.6 Insurance and pension services: refers to various insurance services and commission to agents related with insurance transaction. The credit side records the life insurance and annuity, non-lifeinsurance, reinsurance, standardized guarantee services and relevant supporting services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.7 Financial services: refer to financial intermediation and supporting services, excluding those covered by insurance and pension services. The credit side records the financial intermediation and supporting services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.8 Charges for the use of intellectual property:refer to licensed use of intangible, non-productive/non-financial assets and exclusive rights between residents and non-residents and the licensed use of existing original works or prototypes. The credit side records the intellectual property-related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.9 Telecommunications, computer and information services:refer to communications services between residents and non-residents and transactions of services 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 to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.10 Otherbusiness services: refer to other types of services between residents and non-residents, including research and development services, professional and management consulting services,technical and trade-related services. The credit side records the other business services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.11 Personal, cultural and recreational services: refer to 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, cultural and recreational services (health, education, etc.). The credit side records the related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 1.12 Government goods and services n.i.e:refer to various goods and services provided and purchased by governments and international organizations not included in other categories of goods andservices. 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. 2020-02-28/en/2020/0228/1634.html
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To boost orderly development of the domestic and foreign currency exchange franchise businesses for individuals in compliance with regulations, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently revised and issued the Measures for Administration of the Pilot Program on Domestic and Foreign Currency Exchange Franchise Businesses for Individuals (Huifa No. 6 [2020], "Measures"). While ensuring the permitted scope of domestic and foreign currency exchange franchise businesses for individuals and the administration principles of foreign exchange settlement and sales for individuals remain unchanged, the Measures is designed to refine relevant administration policies and facilitate domestic and foreign currency exchange by individuals. The highlights of the Measures are as follows: first, streamlining administrative approval. The approval for the qualification of franchise businesses for nationwide operations will be delegated to SAFE branches with whom they have registered. Approval for opening a foreign exchange reserve account by franchise institutions and for preparation for market access of their branches/sub-branches will be canceled. Market access-related supporting materials like business license and no-action letter will no longer be required. Second, optimizing processes. Franchise institutions will be allowed to start electronic exchange business for individuals, sales and redemption of electronic travelers' cheques, and handle changes of business address after prior reporting. Third, driving business innovation. Franchise institutions will be allowed to accept non-cash RMB funds paid by domestic individual customers in their names in exchange for foreign currency. Fourth, improving market entry and exit mechanisms. Market access requirements such as volume standards, technical conditions, credit of businesses and managers will be properly optimized. Fifth, tightening ongoing and ex-post regulation. Franchise institutions will be required to build effective risk control systems and intensify authenticity and compliance reviews. The Measures will come into force as of the date of issuance. 2020-02-19/en/2020/0219/1642.html
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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently published the preliminary data on the Balance of Payments for the fourth quarter of 2019 and the whole year. Wang Chunying, press spokesperson and chief economist of the SAFE, answered media questions on relevant issues. Q: Could you brief us on the features of China's balance of payments for 2019? A: As shown by the preliminary data on the Balance of Payments, China's balance of payments remained in a basic equilibrium in 2019, featuring a surplus under the current account and stable cross-border capital flows. First, the current account registered a surplus, including a higher surplus in trade in goods and a lower deficit in trade in services. In 2019, a surplus of USD 177.5 billion was recorded under the current account, accounting for 1.2% of GDP, versus a surplus of USD 49.1 billion that accounted for 0.4% of GDP in 2018. To be specific, trade in goods in the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of USD 462.8 billion, up by 17% from 2018, while trade in services registered a deficit of USD 261.4 billion, down by 11% from a year earlier. Under trade in services, the deficits of travel, transportation and intellectual property royalties went down by 8%, 12% and 8% from 2018, respectively. Second, direct investment registered a net inflow. In 2019, direct investment recorded a net inflow of USD 59.1 billion, including a net outflow under ODI of USD 97.6 billion, and a net inflow under FDI of USD 156.7 billion, which remained high. Third, portfolio investment recorded a surplus. Initial statistics shows that China posted a surplus of around USD 60 billion under portfolio investment in 2019, including outward investment of nearly USD 90 billion and foreign investment of USD 150 billion. Overall, with its strong resilience and potential, China's economy will sustain sound and high-quality growth over the long term. The all-around opening up will be further pressed ahead with. Therefore, China's balance of payments is expected to maintain general stability and remain in a basic equilibrium in the future. 2020-02-14/en/2020/0214/1636.html
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To push forward with reforms that delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services, and increase policy transparency, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently updated the Catalogue of Major Effective Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration (Catalogue) and released it in the "Policies & Regulations" section on its official website to facilitate queries and use by the public. The Catalogue classifies 219 regulations on foreign exchange administration released as of December 31, 2019 into eight major categories, namely, General Foreign Exchange Administration, Foreign Exchange Administration under the Current Account, Foreign Exchange Administration under the Capital Account, Regulation of Foreign Exchange Business of Financial Institutions, RMB Exchange Rate and Foreign Exchange Market, BOP and Foreign Exchange Statistics, Foreign Exchange Inspections and Applicable Regulations, and Foreign Exchange Technical Management, and into several sub-categories further by type of business. In particular, new documents added to the Catalogue primarily concern promotion of cross-border trade and investment facilitation, streamlining of foreign exchange accounts, cancellation of evidence requirements related to foreign exchange administration, and standardizing of financial marketing and promotions. 2020-02-24/en/2020/0224/1645.html
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According to the statistics of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the Chinese foreign exchange market(excluding foreign currency pairs, the same below) recorded total transaction ofRMB 13.43 trillion (equivalent to USD 1.94 trillion) in January 2020. Specifically, the transaction volume of the bank to customer market was RMB 2.17 trillion(equivalent to USD 313.7 billion), the transaction volume of interbank marketwas RMB 11.26 trillion (equivalent to USD 1.63 trillion), the cumulativetransaction volume of the spot market was RMB 5.89 trillion (equivalent to USD 851.5billion), and that of the derivatives market was RMB 7.54 trillion (equivalentto USD 1.09 trillion). Because some of the banks have not been able to submit data due to the disease caused by COVID-19, the data for customer market is incomplete. 2020-03-06/en/2020/0306/1638.html
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The State Council Information Office held a press conference starting at three pm on Friday, April 17, 2020. Wang Chunying, Press Spokesperson, Chief Economist, and Director-General of the Balance of Payments Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), was invited to release the foreign exchange receipts and payments data for the first quarter of 2020, and answer media questions. Xi Yanchun: Friends from the press, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office. We are pleased to have with us here Wang Chunying, Spokesperson, Chief Economist, and Director-General of the Balance of Payments Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. She will share with us the foreign exchange receipts and payments data for the first quarter of 2020 and take your questions. Now I will give the floor to Ms. Wang Chunying. 15:00:42 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference. Now I'd like to share with you China's foreign exchange receipts and payments data for the first quarter of 2020 and then, I will answer your questions. In the first quarter of 2020, the major uncertainty was the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, which impacted the economic and financial performance in and outside China. The pandemic is still ravaging the world, placing mounting downward pressure on the world economy and sending global financial markets fluctuating. Domestically, China has achieved significant progress in epidemic prevention and control, and is speeding up resumption of work, ensuring the stability of the economy and the society. Since the beginning of this year, with the renminbi exchange rate staying basically stable amid two-way fluctuations, market expectations have been relatively steady, and China's cross-border capital flows have been generally stable, and the supply and demand of the foreign exchange market have been in an overall equilibrium. In the first quarter of 2020, in dollar terms, banks settled US$ 491.5 billion and sold US$ 452.5 billion in foreign exchange, representing a surplus of US$ 39.1 billion; in yuan terms, banks settled 3.43 trillion CNY and sold renminbi 3.16 trillion in foreign exchange, representing a surplus of renminbi 273 billion. For foreign-related receipts and payments by banks for customers, in dollar terms, banks posted foreign-related receipts of US$ 915.9 billion and foreign-related payments of US$ 946.7 billion for customers, representing a deficit of US$ 30.7 billion; and in yuan terms, banks recorded foreign-related receipts of 6.39 trillion CNY and foreign-related payments of 6.61 trillion CNY for customers, representing a deficit of 216.5 billion CNY. China's foreign exchange receipts and payments for the first quarter of 2020 are characterized by the following: First, the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market were in an overall balance. In the first quarter, banks registered a surplus of US$ 39.1 billion in foreign exchange settlement and sales. But with other factors like forward foreign exchange settlement and sales and options taken into consideration, the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market remained in a basic equilibrium. Meanwhile, foreign-related foreign exchange receipts and payments by banks for customers recorded a surplus of US$ 1.7 billion. Second, foreign-related receipts and payments by banks for customers recorded a deficit and foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks remained in surplus in March, but since the beginning of April, they both have found a basic equilibrium. In March, as global financial markets became more volatile along with the global spread of the novel coronavirus, major global stock indices tumbled, leading to higher risk aversion and strained external liquidity. As a result, huge net cross-border renminbi outflows under portfolio investment were observed in the month, leading to a deficit in foreign-related receipts and payments by banks for customers. But at the same time, China's domestic foreign exchange market was generally stable, with foreign exchange settlement and sales remaining in surplus, so the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market were generally in balance. Initial data monitored on a daily basis shows that foreign-related receipts and payments by banks for customers have remained in a basic equilibrium and foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks have continued to register a slight surplus since the beginning of April. Third, the foreign exchange sales ratio decreased, but foreign exchange financing by firms stayed generally stable. In the first quarter, the sales ratio, a measure of the desire to purchase foreign exchange, or the ratio of foreign exchange purchased by customers from banks to customers' foreign-related foreign exchange payments, was 63%, down by 2% year-on-year. In the meantime, foreign exchange financing by firms stayed stable. By the end of March, the outstanding domestic foreign exchange loans of Chinese banks increased by US$ 27.7 billion from that of the end of 2019. The outstanding foreign currency cross-border financing for imports, like refinancing and forward letters of credit (L/C), went down by US$ 8 billion from that of the end of 2019, matching the changes in imports for the same period. Fourth, the foreign exchange settlement ratio grew steadily and market participants' desire to hold foreign exchange remained stable. In the first quarter, the foreign exchange settlement ratio, a measure of the desire to settle foreign exchange, or the ratio of sales of foreign exchange to banks by customers to the customers' foreign-related foreign exchange receipts, stood at 66%, up by 5% year-on-year. By the end of March, the balance of domestic foreign exchange deposits held by firms and individuals decreased by US$ 6.7 billion from that of the end of 2019, remaining basically stable. Fifth, forward foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks remained in surplus. In the first quarter, forward foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks for customers recorded a surplus of US$ 41.4 billion, including a surplus of US$ 16.6 billion in March. Sixth, foreign exchange reserves stayed generally stable. By the end of the first quarter, the balance of China's foreign exchange reserves stood at US$ 3.0606 trillion, down by 1.5% from the beginning of the year, primarily because of foreign exchange rate conversion and asset price changes. These are the major foreign exchange receipts and payments data for the first quarter I have planned to share with you. Next, I will take your questions. 15:14:21 2020-04-17 Xi Yanchun: Thank you, Ms. Wang. Here is the Q&A session. Please remember to tell us the news agency you represent before raising your questions. 15:14:42 2020-04-17 China Media Group CCTV: What would you say about China's foreign exchange receipts and payments this year with the global spread of the novel coronavirus? What about the future trends? Thank you. 15:27:51 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: COVID-19 is a new challenge that the world is facing this year. Both global trading and economic activities and international financial markets have been hit hard by the virus. Notwithstanding, China's foreign exchange market has remained generally stable. That's incredible, I think. It reflects China's increasingly maturing foreign exchange market and more sensible market participants. That also shows the confidence of market participants in China's efforts to prevent and control the epidemic and China's economic fundamentals. China's foreign exchange market has ensured "three remains" so far this year: first, the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market has remained in balance; second, the renminbi exchange rate has remained robust against other major currencies; third, market participants have remained sensible and orderly in their cross-border investing and financing activities and foreign exchange settlement and sales. On top of that, China has posted generally stable foreign exchange reserves. Here are details. Let's look first at the balance between supply and demand of foreign exchange. As I have released just now, China's foreign exchange settlement and sales recorded a big surplus, at US$ 39.1 billion, which served as a foundation for the supply-demand balance in the foreign exchange market. Specifically, cross-border foreign exchange receipts and payments by banks for customers registered a surplus of US$ 1.7 billion, and foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks recorded a surplus of US$ 20.5 billion. In a word, the supply and demand in China's foreign exchange market remained balanced in the first quarter, either in a holistic view or in customers' view. Second, the renminbi exchange rate remained robust against other major currencies. In the first quarter, the US Dollar Index climbed by 2.8%, and the renminbi spot exchange rate against the US dollar fell by a slight 1.8%. As for other currencies, the Emerging Market Currency Index dropped by 12.9%, the GBP fell by 6.3% against the US dollar and the EUR, 1.6% against the US dollar. Overall, the renminbi exchange rate index constructed by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System rose by 2.9% in the first quarter. All these data shows that the renminbi exchange rate has stayed robust among major currencies. 15:29:12 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: Third, the behavior of market participants have remained sensible and orderly. Let me explain this in two dimensions: firstly, foreign investment in China shows high enthusiasm of foreign investors in China. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce indicate that China actually utilized US$ 31.2 billion in foreign capital in the first quarter, with that utilized by the high-tech service industry rising by 15.5%. Statistics from the SAFE show that foreign investors' net holdings of Chinese bonds increased by 48% year-on-year to US$ 16.7 billion in the first quarter. Secondly, China's outbound direct investment (ODI) by firms shows stable and orderly. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce indicate that the non-financial sector's ODI reached US$ 15.5 billion in January and February, which was stable. SAFE statistics show that net foreign exchange purchases by individuals contracted by 25% in the first quarter from the previous year, denoting sensible and orderly purchases of foreign exchange by individuals. As a result, China's foreign exchange reserves have remained generally stable. China's fundamentals of sound economic growth will continue to support its foreign exchange market to remain generally stable. First, China's epidemic prevention and control efforts are yielding positive changes, which will stabilize market expectations and confidence. Currently the primary uncertain and destabilizing factor the world economy and global financial markets facing is the evolution of the virus and its shock to the economy and the society. Nevertheless, China is witnessing the consolidated effect of its epidemic response, marked increase in resumption of work and quickened recovery of the economic and social order, which will shore up confidence in the Chinese market and help the growth of the world economy. Second, the trends that China's economy will remain sound over the long term and its reform and opening up will be deepened further have not changed and will continue to attract mid and long-term foreign capital to invest in the Chinese market. Third, China's foreign exchange market is becoming more mature and the renminbi exchange rate is becoming increasingly flexible and experiencing ups and downs in two ways, indicating the renminbi exchange rate is playing a stronger role in regulating the macro-economy and stabilizing the balance of payments. Therefore, China's foreign exchange market is mature enough to absorb and address short-term impacts and sustain stable operations in the future. But certainly, we still need to intensify monitoring and analysis and diversify our responses to different situations. As it is often said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventive measures will provide a strong guarantee for stable market operations. This is all I want to reply to your questions. Thank you. 15:29:43 2020-04-17 The Economic Daily: The SAFE has been stressing the significance of the current account. What impact has the epidemic on the current account in China's balance of payments? Will deficits continue to be observed under the current account in the future? Thank you. 16:08:44 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: The spread of the coronavirus does have had some impacts on the current account in China's balance of payments. We are tracking and analyzing it too. Based on our initial analysis, the impacts mainly include: First, although impacted by the virus, the current account remained in balance in the first quarter. Customs statistics show that China posted a decline of 13% and 3% in exports and imports respectively in the first quarter, but a smaller contraction in exports in March, suggesting a lower surplus in trade in goods for the first quarter. As far as trade in services is concerned, SAFE statistics show that the deficit in trade in services deceased by 25% in January and February, primarily because of plummets in travel spending. Initial statistics indicate that travel spending remained low in March, which means a declining deficit in trade in services. As the current account in China's balance of payments is mainly comprised of trade in goods and in services, with income and current transfers low enough to be omitted, trade in goods and in services are the major indicators of the current account trends. Since the deficits in trade in goods and in services contracted in sync in the first quarter, the current account will probably remain in balance and fall within the reasonable range. Second, the epidemic will not impact the mid and long-term trends of China's current account. The coronavirus evolves following its own rules, and its spread will be contained as scientists or biologists and pharmacists deepen their understanding of the virus, research and develop medications, and accumulate experience and diversify approaches to epidemic prevention and control. Trading and economic activities across the world will recover and depressed external demand will be restored. Domestically, efforts have been stepped up to coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development. Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that more than 99% of industrial enterprises above the designated size had resumed work and 94% of workers have returned to their jobs as of mid-April. The rapid increase in the work resumption rate can guarantee domestic supply and demand, and also ensure supply for foreign trade. Therefore, we believe that the coronavirus will not impact the medium and long-term trends of the current account. Third, the current account balance, the topic I cover whenever I am in a press conference, is determined by deep-seated and long-standing factors like the domestic economic structure, which doesn't change easily. Firstly, China's manufacturing industry featuring a large size and diverse segments has strong pressure resistance capabilities and resilience. Over the past few years, we have been advancing the supply-side structure reform, witnessing strengthened capabilities across the industry chain and sharper competitive edge of the manufacturing industry. Secondly, as China's economic structure is optimized, investment efficiency has been ramped up and the savings rate, declining over the past few years though, has remained high in recent years compared to the rest of the world. In theory, the current account balance is determined by savings and investment shortages. With this taken into consideration, we believe the current account in China's balance of payments can also find a basic equilibrium. The current account is in balance at present, which will not change despite slight deficits or surpluses caused by short-term factors or uncertainties. For example, the surplus under the current account fell to US$ 25.5 billion in 2018, with the deficits in the first and second quarters and recovery to a surplus in the third quarter, which shot further up to US$ 141.3 billion in 2019. However, all this has not tipped the overall balance of China's current account. Thank you. 16:08:56 2020-04-17 Bloomberg: In March, foreign-related receipts and payments by banks for customers registered the highest deficit since January 2016. Could you explain why? What was the position of the balance of payments for the first quarter? 16:36:07 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: I'd like to share with you some data for cross-border receipts and payments for March, over which you are concerned. Foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks hit US$ 18.6 billion in surplus in March, while cross-border receipts and payments recorded a deficit of US$ 47.7 billion due to a net outflow of the yuan, especially under portfolio investment, according to our comparative analysis. In March, China posted a net outflow of cross-border funds under equity but a net inflow of funds under bonds. Despite the net outflow of funds from stock markets in March, China has witnessed a net inflow of "northbound" funds again and a stable net outflow of "southbound" funds through Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect since March 24, indicating no sustained and one-way fund outflows in stock markets. As a matter of fact, it is normal that cross-border funds fluctuate in stock markets under external impact, with relative changes in size within a reasonable range. As for the structure of the current account in the balance of payments for the first quarter that concerns you, relevant data has not been released and some data sources have not been acquired, and therefore the data released just now was estimates based on large projects. Overall, trade in goods will remain in surplus, albeit at a lower level, and trade in services will register deficits in the long term, albeit on the decline. The ultimate judgment will depend on relevant data, but it is highly likely that the current account balance will remain in a reasonable equilibrium. Even if there are deficits, they will not be high. In 2018, for example, the current account registered a deficit of US$ 40.3 billion in the first quarter and of US$ 900 million in the second quarter. However, in the balance of payments, a deficit of US$ 900 million or US$ 40.3 billion will not change the overall direction or trigger heavy outflows of cross-border funds. The current account balance as a percentage of GDP has remained lower than 2% in recent years and stands at 1% now, which denotes a stronger equilibrium. Thank you. 16:36:45 2020-04-17 People's Daily Overseas Edition: China's foreign-related businesses have been seriously affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. What policies has the SAFE introduced to bolster resumption of work, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? How have the policies worked? Thank you. 16:50:45 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: Thank you for your questions, over which firms are also concerned. Following the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the SAFE has adopted effective measures that have provided a strong boost to epidemic prevention and control and resumption of work. They are highlighted as follows: First, the SAFE has introduced convenient policies to support epidemic prevention and control and resumption of work. For example, procedures for the payments of foreign exchange for imports related to medical supplies and the receipts of foreign exchange from exports have been further simplified, and financing in connection with epidemic prevention and control has been facilitated. Moreover, for firms in need, limits on external debt can be canceled and online application can be allowed. To ensure normal demands of individuals and businesses for foreign exchange, the SAFE encourages online transactions. It also has supported and guided the China Foreign Exchange Trading System and Shanghai Clearing House to reduce or waive service fees for foreign exchange trading and clearing for relevant institutions in Hubei. As for effects, online handling of external debt across China accounted for 93% from January 27 to March 31, versus 61% in 2019. Second, the SAFE has deepened reform and opening up in the foreign exchange area to enhance the level of cross-border trade and investment facilitation. In October 2019, the SAFE launched 12 cross-border trade and investment facilitation initiatives. In March 2020, it upped the macro-prudential regulation parameters for full-scale cross-border financing to expand room for seeking external borrowings and make it easy for companies to have more leeway to use overseas funds. On April 14, the SAFE launched eight additional facilitation initiatives to simplify the foreign exchange business. Overall, these initiatives are focused on three aspects. First, stepping up efforts to support foreign trade stability, including expanding pilots for foreign exchange receipts and payments facilitation under trade, facilitating foreign exchange settlement for cross-border e-commerce, and optimizing the way of reporting on foreign exchange for trade in goods. Secondly, increasing cross-border financing facilitation, including rolling out nationwide the reform of receipts and payments facilitation under the capital account, expanding facilitation piloting for external debt to support cross-border financing by high-tech companies, and reforming external debt registration administration for businesses. Thirdly, improving foreign exchange service level, including facilitating use of electronic data interchange (EDI) for foreign exchange businesses. These initiatives can help firms significantly cut time and labor costs. For example, piloting of foreign exchange receipts and payments facilitation for trade can help businesses cut more than 50% of their time costs. Third, SAFE facilitates trade finance by SMEs using the blockchain service platform for cross-border finance. As of April 7, the blockchain service platform had lent US$ 22.7 billion for receivables financing, and served nearly 3,000 firms, of which SMEs accounted for more than 75%. Next, we will sort out more facilitation measures that can be introduced to support resumption of work, investment and financing under cross-border trade. We will follow the principles of proactive, gradual and controllable opening up, which means that relevant policies will not be reversed. In addition, we will forestall and defuse risks, a principle that has long been adhered to. 16:51:01 2020-04-17 CNBC: For the first question, I'd like to know the trends and outlooks of foreign capital inflows in China. Second, for foreign investors considering adding investments in China, they tend to be concerned about the difficulty to withdraw money. So I wonder what specific measures the SAFE has to protect foreign investors. Thank you. 17:10:37 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: As I understand it, your first question is about the recent changes in investing in China for foreign investors and its prospects in China. The other question is about whether they can withdraw their investments. What changes have occurred to foreign investment in China since the outbreak of the virus? First, medium and long-term foreign funds have kept flowing into China, especially FDI and bond investment for the allocation of renminbi assets over the medium and long term. On the one hand, FDI has stayed stable with its structure optimized. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that foreign capital used by the non-financial sector in the first quarter of this year reached US$ 31.2 billion, representing a year-on-year decline, but foreign capital used by the high-tech service sector rose rapidly, suggesting foreign investors have identified opportunities in economic structural adjustments in China. On the other hand, bond investment has increased for the purpose of allocating renminbi assets in the medium and long term. In the first quarter, foreign investors' net holdings of Chinese bonds hiked to US$ 16.7 billion, up by 48%. Second, in the short term, under the external impact, foreign capital in the stock market has fluctuated slightly in a reasonable range. In the first quarter, global stock markets mostly tumbled, leading to higher risk aversion. Therefore, some foreign investors reduced their investment in stock markets amid the US dollar liquidity tension, which is normal. In the first quarter, foreign investors reduced their net holdings of stocks in China by about US$ 10 billion, with relatively heavier reductions in March. China's stock market is the second largest worldwide by market value, which is US$ 7-8 trillion. US$ 10 billion is just a fraction of the US$ 7-8 trillion and has a minimal impact on the market. As far as capital flows in the stock market are concerned, foreign investors have not kept reducing their holdings and the stock market showed two-way fluctuations. The northbound funds registered a net outflow through Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in mid-March, but recorded a net inflow in late March. That is why we believe relevant changes in investment have been within a reasonable range. 17:11:01 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: As for the investment outlooks in China, we believe the China market and renminbi assets will remain attractive to foreign capital. It's because China's economic fundamentals sustaining sound economic growth over the long term have not changed and the China market still has strong potential. As China's efforts to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic are yielding positive changes, China will play a significant role in boosting global economic growth. As for direct investment, FDI across the world has been in decline over the past four years, while China's utilization of foreign capital has bucked the trend and been rising, keeping China as the second largest investment destination around the world. This shows foreign investors' strong interest in investing in China over the long term. As for bond investment, China's bond yields have been astonishingly high, making China attractive to investors to allocate renminbi assets in the medium and long term. As the stock market shows, China's stock market valuation is relatively low, indicating promising prospects for value investment. For example, China's stock market is less volatile than global stock markets. In the first quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index decreased by 23%, versus 10% in the Shanghai Composite Index. Therefore, the China market is still attractive to foreign investors either, in terms of direct investment, bond investment or stock investment. China is open to foreign investment to share the dividends yielded by China's economic growth. 17:16:34 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: As for capital security you are concerned about, I'd like to share with you some of my ideas. China's current account actually became convertible in 1996, which means that any receipts and payments under the current account that are authentic and comply with regulations can be handled with banks by presenting authentic and effective trading documents. As for the capital account, the China market keeps a high level of openness by the 40 standards set by the International Monetary Fund in seven major categories. And reform has been advanced for investment facilitation. Besides, as I have said just now, China has carried out reforms in a proactive, step-by-step and controllable manner, which means that China will not reverse its reforms. Opened window will not be closed again, as we are often cited as saying. Therefore, there is no need for foreign investors to be worried about. 17:26:14 2020-04-17 HK Economic Herald: The COVID-19 epidemic has put a strain on the liquidity of the US dollar recently, which has not been fully eased yet. As China's outstanding external debt has exceeded US$ 2 trillion, will external debt deleveraging recur under such circumstances? Thank you. 17:26:21 2020-04-17 Wang Chunying: China's external debt is now at a low risk of significant deleveraging. This can be explained as follows: First, China's external debt has been growing steadily in recent years. Here is some data for your reference. The outstanding external debt hit US$ 2.0573 trillion by the end of last year, up by US$ 277.4 billion from the historic peak at the end of 2014. Although the figure grew in absolute terms, its growth margin is modest as compared with other indicators like economic growth in recent years. By the end of 2019, the outstanding external debt accounted for 14.3% in GDP for the year, versus 17% as at the end of 2014, indicating the ratio has dropped over 2%. In addition, as the external debt increased, China's external assets have risen in recent years. The ratio of external debt to external assets was 26.7% by the end of 2019, down by 0.1 % year on year and 1% from the level of the end of 2014. This suggests that since deleveraging occurred in 2015 and the beginning of 2016, China's external debt has grown fairly stable, and kept abreast of economic growth and the extent of opening up in China. Moreover, the renminbi exchange rate has stayed stable amid two-way fluctuations and no excessive procyclical leveraging on China's external debt has been observed. Therefore, the risk of significant deleveraging is relatively low. Second, China's external debt structure has been optimized. For example, external debt denominated in domestic currency accounted for 33% at the end of 2018 and increased by 2% to 35% by the end of 2019. The share of external debt for the medium and long term has grown too, but relatively stable, say, from 35% to 41%. What is more, as the interbank bond market is opened up, foreign investors have bought more bonds in China, which accounted for 8% in China's external debt at the end of 2014 and 26% by the end of 2019. These investors are mainly foreign central banks. These institutions and sovereign wealth funds invest in China's bond market to allocate renminbi assets in the medium and long term. Therefore, they don't pursue short-term gains and their investments are inherently stable. Further, the liability ratio, foreign debt ratio and debt service ratio of China's external debt are all within the internationally recognized security range and much lower than the overall levels of developed and emerging market countries. As far as market environment is concerned, in 2015 and 2016, when the last round of external debt deleveraging occurred, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) hiked the interest rates, leading to a rise in both the US dollar interest rates and exchange rates. But currently the Fed adopts an easier monetary policy, with the interest rates, short or long-term, trending downward. But the renminbi exchange rate stays stable, so it is not very likely that significant deleveraging of external debt will recur. The initial data for the first quarter shows that China's registered external debt rose steadily, and foreign investors increased their holdings of Chinese bonds, with no signs of deleveraging. Thank you. 17:26:45 2020-04-17 Xi Yanchun: Thank you, Ms. Wang, and thank you all. This is the end of today's press conference. 17:30:11 2020-04-17 (The original text is available on www.china.com.cn) 2020-04-17/en/2020/0429/1673.html
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In March 2020, China’s international trade in goods and services recorded receipts of RMB 1432.2 billion and payments of RMB 1335.2 billion based on statistics of balance of payments (BOP), registering a surplus of RMB 97 billion. Specifically, trade in goods registered receipts of RMB 1291.4 billion, payments of RMB 1092.6 billion, recording a surplus of RMB 198.8 billion; trade in services recorded receipts of RMB 140.7 billion, payments of RMB 242.6 billion, resulting in a deficit of RMB 101.8 billion. In the US dollar terms, in March 2020,China's BOP-based receipts and payments of international trade in goods and services were USD 204.3 billion and USD 190.4 billion respectively, registering a surplus of USD 13.8 billion. Specifically, the receipts and payments from trade in goods were USD 184.2 billion and USD 155.8 billion respectively, resulting in a surplus of USD 28.4 billion. Trade in services registered receipts and payments of USD 20.1 billion and USD 34.6 billion respectively, recording a deficit of USD 14.5 billion. (End) International Trade in Goods and Services of China (Based on the BOP statistics) March2020 Item In 100 million of RMB In 100 million of USD Goods and services 970 138 Credit 14322 2043 Debit -13352 -1904 1. Goods 1988 284 Credit 12914 1842 Debit -10926 -1558 2. Services -1018 -145 Credit 1407 201 Debit -2426 -346 2.1Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others 75 11 Credit 78 11 Debit -3 0 2.2Maintenance and repair services n.i.e 51 7 Credit 67 10 Debit -17 -2 2.3Transport -287 -41 Credit 251 36 Debit -538 -77 2.4Travel -808 -115 Credit 84 12 Debit -892 -127 2.5Construction 4 1 Credit 67 10 Debit -63 -9 2.6Insurance and pension services -19 -3 Credit 36 5 Debit -55 -8 2.7Financial services 16 2 Credit 30 4 Debit -14 -2 2.8Charges for the use of intellectual property -180 -26 Credit 72 10 Debit -252 -36 2.9Telecommunications, computer and information services 18 3 Credit 244 35 Debit -226 -32 2.10Other business services 144 21 Credit 453 65 Debit -309 -44 2.11Personal, cultural, and recreational services -10 -1 Credit 7 1 Debit -17 -2 2.12Government goods and services n.i.e -23 -3 Credit 18 3 Debit -42 -6 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 data are 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 parity rate of the RMB against the USD. 3. This table employsrounded-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 same standard 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, but differ 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 trade and processing trade with imported materials), while the goods whose ownershipis not transferred (e.g. manufacturing services with supplied materials or with exported materials) are included in the statistics of trade in 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 FOB basis, whereas goods imported are on the CIF basis. Therefore, for the purpose of the BOP statistics, the international transport and insurance premiums are taken out from the value of imported goods and included in the trade in services; and third, the data on net export of goods in merchanting which are not 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 for the 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 records services 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 is not transferred between the owner and the processor. The credit side records the manufacturing services supplied by the Chinese residents on physical inputs owned by non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.2 Maintenance and repair services: refer to 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 records the maintenance and repair services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.3 Transport:refers to the process of transporting people and goods from one place to another, and the relevant supporting and auxiliary services, as well as postal and delivery services. The credit side records the international transport, postal and delivery services supplied by residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 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 services provided by the Chinese residents to non-residents who have stayed in China for less than one year, as well as non-residents studying abroad and seeking medical treatment for indefinite period of stay. The debit side records the goods and services purchased by the Chinese residents when traveling, studying or seeking medical services abroad from non-residents. 2.5 Construction services:refer to the establishment, renovation, maintenance or expansion of fixed assets in the form of buildings, land improvement, roads, bridges and dams and other 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 special services. The credit side records the construction services provided by the Chinese residents outside the economic territory. The debit side records the construction services received by the Chinese residents in the Chinese economic territory from non-residents. 2.6 Insuranceand pension services: refers to various insurance services and commission to agents related with insurance transaction. The credit side records the life insurance and annuity, non-lifeinsurance, reinsurance, standardized guarantee services and relevant supporting services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.7 Financial services: refer to financial intermediation and supporting services, excluding those covered by insurance and pension services. 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-financial assets and exclusive rights between residents and non-residents and the licensed use of existing original works or prototypes. The credit side records the intellectual property-related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.9 Telecommunications, computer and information services: refer tocommunications services between residents and non-residents and transactions of services 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, and vice versa for debit side. 2.10 Other business services: refer to other types of services between residents and non-residents, including research and development services, professional and management consulting services, technical and trade-related services. The credit side records the other business services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.11 Personal, cultural and recreational services: refer to 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, cultural and recreational services (health, education, etc.). The credit side records the related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side. 2.12 Government goods and services n.i.e:refer to various goods and services provided and purchased by governments and international 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. 2020-04-30/en/2020/0430/1674.html
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In the first quarter of 2020, China's current account registered a deficit of RMB 207.6 billion, including a surplus of RMB 184.5 billion under trade in goods, a deficit of RMB 328.1 billion under trade in services, a deficit of RMB 68.1 billion under primary income and a surplus of RMB 4.1 billion under secondary income. The capital and financial accounts (including net errors and omissions for the quarter) recorded a surplus of RMB 207.6 billion, in which foreign direct investment recorded a surplus of RMB 104.3 billion, and reserve assets decreased by RMB 175.4 billion. In the US dollar terms, in the first quarter of 2020, China's current account registered a deficit of USD 29.7 billion, including a surplus of USD 26.4 billion under trade in goods, a deficit of USD 47.0 billion under trade in services, a deficit of USD 9.8 billion under primary income and a surplus of USD 600 million under secondary income. The capital and financial accounts (including net errors and omissions for the quarter) recorded a surplus of USD 29.7 billion, in which foreign direct investment recorded a surplus of USD 14.9 billion, and reserve assets decreased by USD 25.1 billion. In SDR terms, in the first quarter of 2020, China's current account registered a deficit of SDR 22.1 billion, including a surplus of SDR 19.6 billion under trade in goods, a deficit of SDR 34.9 billion under trade in services, a deficit of SDR 7.2 billion under primary income and a surplus of SDR 400 million under secondary income. The capital and financial accounts (including net errors and omissions for the quarter) recorded a surplus of SDR 22.1 billion, in which foreign direct investment recorded a surplus of SDR 11.1 billion, and reserve assets decreased by SDR 18.7 billion. (End) China's Balance of Payments (Preliminary Data) Unit:RMB 100 million Item Line No. Q1 2020 1. Current account 1 -2,076 Credit 2 38,943 Debit 3 -41,019 1. A Goods and Services 4 -1,436 Credit 5 36,495 Debit 6 -37,931 1.A.a Goods 7 1,845 Credit 8 32,695 Debit 9 -30,850 1.A.b Services 10 -3,281 Credit 11 3,800 Debit 12 -7,080 1.A.b.1 Processing services 13 232 Credit 14 241 Debit 15 -8 1.A.b.2 Maintenance and Repair Services 16 93 Credit 17 135 Debit 18 -43 1.A.b.3 Transport 19 -816 Credit 20 718 Debit 21 -1,534 1.A.b.4 Travel 22 -2,901 Credit 23 321 Debit 24 -3,221 1.A.b.5 Construction 25 16 Credit 26 168 Debit 27 -152 1.A.b.6 Insurance and Pension Services 28 -81 Credit 29 69 Debit 30 -150 1.A.b.7 Financial Services 31 31 Credit 32 68 Debit 33 -37 1.A.b.8 Charges for the Use of Intellectual Property 34 -347 Credit 35 162 Debit 36 -509 1.A.b.9 Telecommunications, Computer, and Information Services 37 30 Credit 38 592 Debit 39 -562 1.A.b.10 Other Business Services 40 537 Credit 41 1,275 Debit 42 -739 1.A.b.11 Personal, Cultural, and Recreational Services 43 -33 Credit 44 15 Debit 45 -48 1.A.b.12 Government Goods and Services n.i.e 46 -43 Credit 47 35 Debit 48 -78 1.B Primary Income 49 -681 Credit 50 1,883 Debit 51 -2,564 1.C Secondary Income 52 41 Credit 53 566 Debit 54 -525 2. Capital and Financial Accounts (Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 55 2,076 2.1 Capital Account 56 -6 Credit 57 1 Debit 58 -8 2.2. Financial Account (Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 59 2,083 2.2.1 Financial Account (Excluding Reserve Assets, But Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 60 328 Including: 2.2.1.1 Direct Investment 61 1,043 2.2.1.1.1 Assets 62 -1,302 2.2.1.1.2 Liabilities 63 2,345 2.2.2 Reserve Assets 64 1,754 2.2.2.1 Monetary gold 65 0 2.2.2.2 Special drawing rights 66 -3 2.2.2.3 Reserve position in the IMF 67 18 2.2.2.4 Foreign exchange reserves 68 1,738 2.2.2.5 Other reserves 69 0 3. Net Errors and Omissions 70 / Note: 1. The table is compiled according to BPM6. 2."Credit" is presented as positive value while "debit" as negative value, and the balance is the sum of the "Credit" and the "Debit". All items herein refer to balances, unless marked with "Credit" or "Debit". 3. The RMB denominated BOP statement is converted from the USD denominated BOP statement for the quarter using the quarterly average central parity rate of RMB against USD. 4.Since net errors and omissions are included, the amount of the capital and financial accounts is the opposite number of the difference in the current account. 5.This table employs rounded-off numbers. China's Balance of Payments (Preliminary Data) Unit: USD100 million Item Line No. Q1 2020 1. Current account 1 -297 Credit 2 5,580 Debit 3 -5,877 1. A Goods and Services 4 -206 Credit 5 5,229 Debit 6 -5,435 1.A.a Goods 7 264 Credit 8 4,685 Debit 9 -4,420 1.A.b Services 10 -470 Credit 11 544 Debit 12 -1,015 1.A.b.1 Processing services 13 33 Credit 14 34 Debit 15 -1 1.A.b.2 Maintenance and Repair Services 16 13 Credit 17 19 Debit 18 -6 1.A.b.3 Transport 19 -117 Credit 20 103 Debit 21 -220 1.A.b.4 Travel 22 -416 Credit 23 46 Debit 24 -462 1.A.b.5 Construction 25 2 Credit 26 24 Debit 27 -22 1.A.b.6 Insurance and Pension Services 28 -12 Credit 29 10 Debit 30 -22 1.A.b.7 Financial Services 31 4 Credit 32 10 Debit 33 -5 1.A.b.8 Charges for the Use of Intellectual Property 34 -50 Credit 35 23 Debit 36 -73 1.A.b.9 Telecommunications, Computer, and Information Services 37 4 Credit 38 85 Debit 39 -81 1.A.b.10 Other Business Services 40 77 Credit 41 183 Debit 42 -106 1.A.b.11 Personal, Cultural, and Recreational Services 43 -5 Credit 44 2 Debit 45 -7 1.A.b.12 Government Goods and Services n.i.e 46 -6 Credit 47 5 Debit 48 -11 1.B Primary Income 49 -98 Credit 50 270 Debit 51 -367 1.C Secondary Income 52 6 Credit 53 81 Debit 54 -75 2. Capital and Financial Accounts (Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 55 297 2.1 Capital Account 56 -1 Credit 57 0 Debit 58 -1 2.2. Financial Account (Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 59 298 2.2.1 Financial Account (Excluding Reserve Assets, But Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 60 47 Including: 2.2.1.1 Direct Investment 61 149 2.2.1.1.1 Assets 62 -187 2.2.1.1.2 Liabilities 63 336 2.2.2 Reserve Assets 64 251 2.2.2.1 Monetary gold 65 0 2.2.2.2 Special drawing rights 66 0 2.2.2.3 Reserve position in the IMF 67 3 2.2.2.4 Foreign exchange reserves 68 249 2.2.2.5 Other reserves 69 0 3. Net Errors and Omissions 70 / Note:1. The table is compiled according to BPM6. 2."Credit" is presented as positive value while "debit" as negative value, and the balance is the sum of the"Credit" and the "Debit". All items herein refer to balances, unless marked with "Credit" or "Debit". 3.Since net errors and omissions are included, the amount of the capital and financial accounts is the opposite number of the difference in the current account. 4.This table employs rounded-off numbers. China's Balance of Payments (Preliminary Data) Unit: SDR 100 million Item Line No. Q1 2020 1. Current account 1 -221 Credit 2 4,144 Debit 3 -4,365 1. A Goods and Services 4 -153 Credit 5 3,883 Debit 6 -4,036 1.A.a Goods 7 196 Credit 8 3,479 Debit 9 -3,283 1.A.b Services 10 -349 Credit 11 404 Debit 12 -753 1.A.b.1 Processing services 13 25 Credit 14 26 Debit 15 -1 1.A.b.2 Maintenance and Repair Services 16 10 Credit 17 14 Debit 18 -5 1.A.b.3 Transport 19 -87 Credit 20 76 Debit 21 -163 1.A.b.4 Travel 22 -309 Credit 23 34 Debit 24 -343 1.A.b.5 Construction 25 2 Credit 26 18 Debit 27 -16 1.A.b.6 Insurance and Pension Services 28 -9 Credit 29 7 Debit 30 -16 1.A.b.7 Financial Services 31 3 Credit 32 7 Debit 33 -4 1.A.b.8 Charges for the Use of Intellectual Property 34 -37 Credit 35 17 Debit 36 -54 1.A.b.9 Telecommunications, Computer, and Information Services 37 3 Credit 38 63 Debit 39 -60 1.A.b.10 Other Business Services 40 57 Credit 41 136 Debit 42 -79 1.A.b.11 Personal, Cultural, and Recreational Services 43 -3 Credit 44 2 Debit 45 -5 1.A.b.12 Government Goods and Services n.i.e 46 -5 Credit 47 4 Debit 48 -8 1.B Primary Income 49 -72 Credit 50 200 Debit 51 -273 1.C Secondary Income 52 4 Credit 53 60 Debit 54 -56 2. Capital and Financial Accounts (Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 55 221 2.1 Capital Account 56 -1 Credit 57 0 Debit 58 -1 2.2. Financial Account (Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 59 222 2.2.1 Financial Account (Excluding Reserve Assets, But Including Net Errors and Omissions for the Quarter) 60 35 Including: 2.2.1.1 Direct Investment 61 111 2.2.1.1.1 Assets 62 -139 2.2.1.1.2 Liabilities 63 250 2.2.2 Reserve Assets 64 187 2.2.2.1 Monetary gold 65 0 2.2.2.2 Special drawing rights 66 0 2.2.2.3 Reserve position in the IMF 67 2 2.2.2.4 Foreign exchange reserves 68 185 2.2.2.5 Other reserves 69 0 3. Net Errors and Omissions 70 / Notes:1. The table is compiled according to BPM6. 2."Credit" is presented as positive value while "debit" as negative value, and the balance is the sum of the "Credit" and the "Debit". All items herein refer to balances, unless marked with "Credit" or "Debit". 3.The SDR denominated quarterly BOP statement is converted from the USD denominated BOPstatement for the quarter using the quarterly average exchange rate of SDR against USD. 4.Since net errors and omissions are included, the amount of the capital and financial accounts is the opposite number of the difference in the current account. 5.This table employs rounded-off numbers. 2020-05-08/en/2020/0508/1678.html
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The branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; the branches of the SAFE in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo; and national Chinese-funded banks: To further improve the business environment and serve the high-quality growth of the real economy, the SAFE decides to optimize foreign exchange administration and improve foreignexchange services to enhance cross-border trade and investment facilitation. Relevant issues are notified as follows: I. Optimizing foreign exchange administration (1) Rolling out nationwide the facilitation reform forreceipts and payments under the capital account. While ensuring funds are used for true businesses and in compliance with regulations and the existing management provisions on use of receipts under the capital account, eligible companies will be allowed to use receipts under the capital account such as foreign exchange capital, external debts and funds raised through overseas listing for domestic payments, without submitting authentication materials to banks beforehand on a transaction-by-transaction basis. The administering banks shall control relevant risks in line with the prudential business principles, and perform ex-post sampling of facilitated receipts and payments under the capital account they handle in accordance with relevant requirements. Local foreign exchange authorities shall intensify monitoring and analysis, as well as mid- and post-transaction regulations. (2) Cancelling registration forspecial foreign exchange refunding. Category-A companies in the list of companies receiving and paying foreign exchange under trade in goods will be waived of prior registration with foreign exchange authorities and can handle them directly with financial institutions instead, if they need a refunding of foreign exchange that is a maximum of US$50,000 (US$50,000 is permitted) and the interval between the refunding date and the receiving or payment date is more than 180 days (180 days is not permitted) during a calendar year or if the foreign exchange cannot be refunded in the original route for special reasons. In such cases, financial institutions shall state "special foreignexchange refunding" in the remarks for foreign-related receipts and payments declaration. (3) Simplifying registration management for somecapital account businesses. Eligible overseas loans under domestic guarantee and overseas lending will be delegated to banks for write-off registration. Non-financial companies who have been relieved of the responsibilities for or have not performed the contracts for overseas loans under domestic guarantee will be allowed to go through write-off registration for overseas loans underdomestic guarantee with banks within the jurisdictions of local SAFE branches (foreign exchange administration departments). Non-financial companies whose overseas lending expires, and whose principal and interest have been collected, can go to banks within the jurisdictions of local SAFE branches (foreign exchange administration departments) directly for write-off registration foroverseas lending. (4) Relaxing the requirements on exporters for paying domestic foreign exchange loans with foreign exchange purchased. For domestic foreign exchange loans like outward bills thatare in the foreign exchange settlement accounts under the current account asrequired by relevant provisions, with foreign exchange settled, companies shall, in principle, pay the loans with foreign exchange it holds or foreign exchange it receives from export under trade in goods. But if companies cannot receive foreign exchange for exports as scheduled and have no other foreign exchange on hand to pay the domestic foreign exchange loans, the lending bank shall handle foreign exchange purchases for repayment in accordance with the prudential business principles, and report such cases to local foreign exchange authorities within five working days at the beginning of each month. II. Improving foreign exchange services (5) Facilitating the use of EDI for foreign exchange businesses. If banks handle foreign exchange receipts and payments for trade in goods by reviewing electronic data interchange (EDI), the conditions that such companies must be category-A companies and must have beenin operation for two years will be canceled. If banks handle foreign exchange receipts and payments for trade in services, primary income and secondary income by reviewing EDI, electronic transaction documents cannot be necessarily printed. For personal foreign exchange settlement and sales handled by banks, the "notice for foreign exchange settlements / sales" cannot necessarily be printed. In such cases, banks must ensure the authenticity, compliance and exclusive use of EDI, and keep EDI or electronic information for five years for future reviews. (6) Optimizing foreign exchange settlement by banks for cross-border e-commerce. More banks will be encouraged to handle foreign exchange settlement and sales, and receipts and payments of related funds for cross-border e-commerce players, based on electronic transaction information in accordance with the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Printing and Issuing Measures for the Administration of Foreign Exchange Business of Payment Institutions (SAFE Document No. 13 [2019]), as long as they meet the conditions of transaction information collection and authentication. (7) Simplifying endorsement procedures for business reviews. When reviewing foreign exchange receipts and payments under the current account as required, financial institutions can decide at their discretion whether to endorse the amount and date of receipts or payments and to affix a business chop on the original documents, in accordance with internal control requirements and real businessneeds, and in line with the substantial compliance principle. But they need to keep the review materials for future reviews, in accordance with existing regulations. (8) Supporting banks to innovate financial services. Banks will be encouraged to evaluate companies' credit in diverse ways, categorizing companies having difficulties inforeign-related receipts and payments due to objective and uncontrollable factors, extending the payment period and simplifying procedures for foreign exchange loans to micro, small and medium-sized businesses with promising prospects. Banks will also be encouraged to leverage information available onthe digital foreign exchange administration platform (ASOne) such as corporate credit and foreign exchange rates to do business in compliance with regulations, innovate businesses and deliver high-quality financial services tomicro, small and medium-sized foreign-related businesses. This Circular will become effective as of the date of issuance (However, Section Three under Article I will come into force on June 1, 2020 after the capital account information system is upgraded). This Circular will prevail over anyprevious regulations if there is any discrepancy. Upon receiving this Circular, SAFE branches and foreign exchange administration departments shall forward it to the central sub-branches, sub-branches, city commercial banks, rural commercial banks, foreign-owned banks, and rural cooperative banks within their jurisdictions in time, and national Chinese-funded banks shall forward it to the branches and sub-branches within their jurisdictions in time. Please give feedback to the SAFE promptly if there is any problem with implementation. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange April 10, 2020 2020-04-14/en/2020/0414/1669.html