The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released the data on foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks and cross-border receipts and payments by non-banking sectors for February 2021. The SAFE deputy administrator and press spokesperson Wang Chunying answered media questions on foreign exchange receipts and payments for February 2021.

Q: Could you brief us on the situations of China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments in February 2021?

A: China saw steady performance of its foreign exchange market in February. Major indicators showed that foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks registered a surplus of US$28 billion, and the non-banking sector’s foreign-related receipts and payments recorded a surplus of US$33.2 billion. As seasonal factors for massive foreign exchange receipts and settlement under trade subsided, the surplus in foreign exchange settlement and sales under trade in goods and the surplus in cross-border receipts and payments under trade in goods declined, leading to steady foreign exchange receipts and payments transactions.

Market players’ willingness to sell and settle foreign exchange stayed stable on the whole. In February, the settlement ratio that measures customers' willingness to settle their foreign exchange, which is the ratio of foreign exchange customers sold to banks to their receipts of foreign exchange from foreign-related transactions, recorded 67%. The sales ratio that measures customers’ willingness to sell foreign exchange, which is the ratio of foreign exchange bought by customers from banks to their payments of foreign exchange for foreign-related transactions, was 61%, almost equal to that of January.

Two-way cross-border capital investments were rational and orderly. In February, foreign-related receipts and payments under direct investment registered a surplus of US$13.7 billion, which served as a major channel for cross-border capital inflows, suggesting foreign investors were confident in Chinese market and its prospects. Two-way investments under securities were further balanced, posting a surplus of US$3.2 billion.

For the moment, the COVID-19 pandemic is still wreaking havoc around the globe and there are many instabilities and uncertainties in the external environment. However, China’s fundamentals sustaining its long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged, let alone high-level two-way opening-up of the financial market is being advanced, which can boost the robust performance of China’s foreign exchange market and balanced flows of cross-border capital.