China posted a current account surplus of $82 billion and maintained a reasonable and orderly two-way flow of cross-border funds in the first quarter of 2023, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said on Friday.
China maintained a basic balance of payments in the first quarter of 2023, said Wang Chunying, deputy director of SAFE.
The current account surplus was 82 billion US dollars, or 2 percent of GDP in the same period, which remained within a reasonable and balanced range, Wang said. Two-way cross-border capital flows will continue in a reasonable and orderly manner. he added.
According to Wang, China’s balance of payments in the first quarter has three characteristics. First, the merchandise trade surplus stands at a relatively high level compared to similar periods.
Second, there is a deficit in trade in services. In the first quarter, the services trade deficit was $47 billion, Wang said. The travel deficit was $43.4 billion, up 58 percent from the same period a year earlier, mainly due to increased individual trips abroad.
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The logistics deficit was 19,000 million, compared to the surplus of 3,300 million in the same period of the previous year. This was mainly due to the recovery of global transport capacities and the gradual return of China’s logistics services balance to pre-pandemic levels.
the merchandise trade surplus is at a relatively high level compared to similar periods
Third, two-way foreign direct investment continued to progress. In the first quarter, foreign direct investment from China registered outflows of 50.6 billion dollars, 23% more than in the same period of the previous year, with inflows of 20.5 billion.
“In the face of a complex and volatile external environment, China has adhered to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, has strived to promote high-quality development, shown positive momentum of economic growth, and provided fundamental support to the basic balance of payments,” Wang said.
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