The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently published the preliminary data on the Balance of Payments for the fourth quarter of 2019 and the whole year. Wang Chunying, press spokesperson and chief economist of the SAFE, answered media questions on relevant issues.

Q: Could you brief us on the features of China's balance of payments for 2019?

A: As shown by the preliminary data on the Balance of Payments, China's balance of payments remained in a basic equilibrium in 2019, featuring a surplus under the current account and stable cross-border capital flows.

First, the current account registered a surplus, including a higher surplus in trade in goods and a lower deficit in trade in services. In 2019, a surplus of USD 177.5 billion was recorded under the current account, accounting for 1.2% of GDP, versus a surplus of USD 49.1 billion that accounted for 0.4% of GDP in 2018. To be specific, trade in goods in the Balance of Payments recorded a surplus of USD 462.8 billion, up by 17% from 2018, while trade in services registered a deficit of USD 261.4 billion, down by 11% from a year earlier. Under trade in services, the deficits of travel, transportation and intellectual property royalties went down by 8%, 12% and 8% from 2018, respectively.

Second, direct investment registered a net inflow. In 2019, direct investment recorded a net inflow of USD 59.1 billion, including a net outflow under ODI of USD 97.6 billion, and a net inflow under FDI of USD 156.7 billion, which remained high.

Third, portfolio investment recorded a surplus. Initial statistics shows that China posted a surplus of around USD 60 billion under portfolio investment in 2019, including outward investment of nearly USD 90 billion and foreign investment of USD 150 billion.

Overall, with its strong resilience and potential, China's economy will sustain sound and high-quality growth over the long term. The all-around opening up will be further pressed ahead with. Therefore, China's balance of payments is expected to maintain general stability and remain in a basic equilibrium in the future.