According to statistical data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), in 2009 the amount of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD978.6 billion and USD715.1 billion respectively, representing a decrease of 22 percent and 10 percent as compared to the same period of 2008. The surplus of foreign exchange settlement and sales amounted to USD263.5 billion, representing a decrease of 42 percent as compared to 2008. Foreign-related receipts and payments of domestic banks on behalf of clients amounted to USD1405.4 billion and USD1241.9 billion respectively, a decrease of 22 percent and 13 percent from 2008; the surplus of foreign-related receipts and payments reached USD163.4 billion, a decrease of 56 percent from the previous year.
In order to better analyze and examine the foreign exchange situation and to provide a reflection of Chinas development of its foreign-related economy from different perspectives and to increase the transparency of foreign exchange statistical data, the SAFE has decided that beginning in 2010 monthly data on the foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients and data on foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients will be released on a quarterly basis.

Appendix: Glossary
Balance of payments (BOP) refers to all economic transactions between residents and non-residents of China, including all financial transactions and barter transactions that result in changes in the assets and liabilities of residents and non-residents.
Foreign exchange settlement and sales on behalf of clients by banks refer to the business of foreign exchange settlement and sales conducted by designated foreign exchange banks for their clients, excluding data on foreign exchange settlement and sales conducted by designated foreign exchange banks on their own behalf and data on inter-bank foreign exchange market transactions. The period when the conversion between the Renminbi and the foreign currency occurs shall be regarded as the time point for the statistics. Specifically, foreign exchange settlement refers to the sale of foreign exchange to designated foreign exchange banks by owners of foreign exchange; foreign exchange sales refers to the sale of foreign exchange by designated foreign exchange banks to users of foreign exchange.
Foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients refer to the receipts and payments between domestic non-bank residential institutions and individuals (hereinafter referred to as the non-bank sector) and non-residential institutions and individuals via domestic banks, excluding receipts and payments in cash and the foreign-related receipts and payments of the banks themselves. Specifically, they include: cross-border receipts and payments between the non-bank sector and non-residents via domestic banks (including foreign exchange and the Renminbi), and domestic receipts and payments between the non-bank sector and non-residents via domestic banks (currently including receipts and payments in foreign exchange and receipts and payments in RMB under the RMB settlement account for cross-border trade); the time when the clients of banks conduct foreign-related receipts and payments at domestic banks shall be regarded as the time point for the statistics. Specifically, foreign-related receipts of banks on behalf of clients refer to the monetary amounts collected by the non-bank sector from non-residents via domestic banks; foreign-related payments of banks on behalf of clients refer to the monetary amounts paid by the non-bank sector to non-residents via domestic banks.