The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently disseminated the preliminary data in the Balance of Payments for the third quarter and the first three quarters of 2017, and its spokesperson answered media questions on relevant issues.

Q: Could you brief us on China's balance of payments for the first three quarters of 2017?

A: According to the preliminary data in the Balance of Payments for the first three quarters of this year, a twin surplus was registered under the current account and the financial account (excluding reserve assets, but including net errors and omissions for the first three quarters, the same below), and reserve assets rose.

First, the current account retained a reasonable surplus and foreign trade increased on a year on year basis. In the first three quarters, a surplus of USD 106.3 billion was recorded under the current account, and its ratio to GDP for the same period was 1.2%. Another surplus of USD 335.4 billion was recorded under trade in goods in the Balance of Payments, with import and export of goods rising by 10% and 17% year on year respectively, which indicates that foreign trade has recovered and maintains a good momentum for growth driven by the continued strengthening of domestic and foreign demand.

Second, the financial account (excluding reserve assets) registered a surplus. In the first three quarters, the financial account (excluding reserve assets) recorded a surplus of USD 60.8 billion, compared with a deficit of USD 389.1 billion in the comparable coverage for the same period last year. In particular, direct investment recorded a net inflow of USD 21.3 billion, versus a net outflow of USD 79.8 billion for the same period last year. To be specific, ODI recorded a net outflow of USD 64.8 billion, and FDI, a net inflow of USD 86.1 billion, which are relatively high in both directions.

Third, reserve assets rose. In the first three quarters, China's reserve assets rose by USD 58.9 billion as a result of the BOP transactions (excluding the impact of non-transaction factors such as exchange rate and price), compared with a drop of USD 294.1 billion for the same period last year. To be specific, foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 59.8 billion and the reserve position in the IMF fell by USD 900 million.

Overall, China's balance of payments remained robust and its cross-border capital flows stayed stable with a good momentum for growth in the first three quarters, suggesting a more solid foundation for the basic equilibrium in the Balance of Payments in the future.