For the purpose of enhancing the timeliness of the release of the data of the balance of payments statement, the SAFE recently released preliminary data of China's Balance of Payments statement for the first half of 2009. The current account and the capital and financial account posted a "twin surplus" in the first half of 2009, and international reserves maintained a growing momentum.
In the first half of 2009, China's surplus under the current account totaled USD 130 billion, a decrease of 32% year on year. Specifically, according to the statistical coverage of the balance of payments, the surpluses under the trade in goods, income, and current transfers reached USD 118.3 billion, USD 16 billion, and USD 14.3 billion respectively, whereas the deficit in services amounted to USD 18.6 billion.
Meanwhile, China's surplus under the capital and financial account totaled USD 33.1 billion, a drop of 54% year on year. In particular, the net inflows of direct investments and portfolio investments amounted to USD 20.6 billion and USD 16.9 billion respectively, whereas the net outflows of other investments reached USD 5.6 billion.
Furthermore, China's international reserves continued to grow. At the end of the first half of 2009, China registered a total of USD 2131.6 billion in foreign exchange reserves, an increase of USD 185.6 billion over that at the end of 2008.
The SAFE will formally release China's Balance of Payments Statement for the first half of 2009 during the September-October period. (End).

              Balance of Payments*(Preliminary Data)
                          First Half of 2009
                                                     US dollars (thousands)