Q: The latest data on foreign exchange reserves disseminated by the People's Bank of China show that China's foreign exchange reserves by the end of April 2018 fell by USD 18 billion month on month. Could you tell us why? What will be the trends in the future?

A: As at the end of April 2018, China registered USD 3.1249 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, down by USD 18 billion or 0.57% month on month.

In April, China's cross-border capital flows remained stable and the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market maintained an equilibrium. Under the combined impact of an increase of more than 2% in the US Dollar Index on the international financial markets, the depreciation of major non-USD currencies against the USD and callback of asset prices, China's foreign exchange reserves declined slightly.

Since the beginning of this year, China's economic performance has got off to a good start, with transformation and upgrading deepened and quality and benefit rising. The RMB exchange rate against the USD fluctuated in two ways and stayed stable, expectations of the foreign exchange rate rationally diverged, and the supply and demand of foreign exchange found an adaptive equilibrium.

Looking ahead, China's economy will be well positioned for stable development with a strong momentum for growth. As the new landscape of opening up is advanced and the financial market is liberalized in two directions, China's cross-border capital will keep overall balance between inflows and outflows. At the same time, despite uncertainties, the world economy will continue to recover. As both domestic and overseas factors play their roles, China's foreign exchange reserves are expected to remain stable on the whole.