Q: The latest data disseminated by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on foreign exchange reserves show that China’s foreign exchange reserves as at the end of January 2019 increased by USD 15.2 billion month on month. Could you tell us why such a change occurred? What would you say about the future trends of foreign exchange reserves?

A: As at the end of January 2019, China’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3,087.9 billion, up by USD 15.2 billion or 0.5% month on month.

In January 2019, the supply and demand of China’s foreign exchange market maintained basic equilibrium, and the cross-border capital flow was generally stable. In global financial markets, the exchange rate of major non-US dollar currencies witnessed a rise against US dollar, and the price of financial assets also rose to certain extent. Affected by valuation factors such as exchange rate translation and asset price changes, China’s foreign exchange reserves increased slightly.

Presently, the global economic growth is confronted with the pressure of slowdown, and the international environment is unstable and uncertain. However, China’s economy has continued to maintain overall stability and steady progress, and the balance of payments has presented a pattern of autonomous balance, which provides a solid foundation for the stability of China’s foreign exchange reserves.

Looking ahead, despite the complex and severe global economic and financial environment, China’s economy will maintain a sound development momentum, continue to press ahead with opening-up in an all-around manner, and the foreign exchange market’s operation mechanism will become increasingly mature, enabling China to maintain overall stability of cross-border capital flow and basic balance of supply and demand in foreign exchange market. Due to a combination of factors at home and abroad, China’s foreign exchange reserve is expected to maintain overall stability amid fluctuations.