In August 2021, China’s international trade in goods and services recorded receipts of RMB 1996.7 billion and payments of RMB 1705.1 billion based on statistics of balance of payments (BOP), registering a surplus of RMB 291.6 billion. Specifically, trade in goods registered receipts of RMB 1818.8 billion, payments of RMB 1455.5 billion, recording a surplus of RMB 363.2 billion; trade in services recorded receipts of RMB 178.0 billion, payments of RMB 249.6 billion, resulting in a deficit of RMB 71.7 billion.

In the US dollar terms, in August 2021, the receipts and payments of China's international trade in goods and services were USD 308.3 billion and USD 263.2 billion respectively, registering a surplus of USD 45.0 billion. Specifically, the receipts and payments from trade in goods were USD 280.8 billion and USD 224.7 billion respectively, resulting in a surplus of USD 56.1 billion. Trade in services registered receipts and payments of USD 27.5 billion and USD 38.5 billion respectively, recording a deficit of USD 11.1 billion. (End)

International Trade in Goods and Services of China

(Based on the BOP statistics)

August 2021

Notes:

1. The trade in goods and services in this table refers to the transactions between residents andnon-residents, based on the same standard as that for BOP statement. The monthly data are preliminary and may be inconsistent with the quarterly data in the BOP statement.

2. The data on international trade in goods and services are prepared in USD, and the RMB data for the current month is derived by converting the USD data at the monthly average central parity rate of the RMB against the USD.

3. This table employs rounded-off numbers.

Definition of Indicators:

Goods and Services: refers to the trade in goods and services between residents and non-residents, which is based on the same standard as that for the BOP statement.

1. Goods:refers to transactions in goods whereby the economic ownership is transferred between the Chinese residents and non-residents. The credit side records export of goods, while the debit side records import of goods. The data of goods account are mainly from the customs statistics of imports and exports, but differ from the statistics of the customs mainly in the following aspects:first, the goods in the BOP statement only reflect the goods whose ownership has been transferred (e.g. goods under the trade modes such as general trade and processing trade with imported materials), while the goods whose ownership is not transferred (e.g. manufacturing services with supplied materials or with exported materials) are included in the statistics of trade in services instead of the statistics of trade in goods; second, as required by the BOP statistics, the goods imported and exported are valued on the FOB basis, but as required by the customs, the goods exported are valued on the FOB basis, whereas goods imported are on the CIF basis. Therefore, for the purpose of the BOP statistics, the international transport and insurance premiums are taken out from the value of imported goods and included in the trade in services; and third, the data on net export of goods in merchanting which are not included in the customs statistics are supplemented.

2. Services:includes manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others, maintenance and repair services n.i.e, transport, travel,construction, insurance and pension services, financial services, charges for the use of intellectual property, telecommunications, computer and information services, other business services, personal, cultural and recreational services, and government goods and services n.i.e. The credit side records services supplied, while the debit side records services received.

2.1 Manufacturing services on physical owned by others: processoronly provides processing, assembly, packaging and other services and chargesservice fee from the owner, while the ownership of the goods isnot transferred between the owner and the processor. The credit side records the manufacturingservices supplied by the Chineseresidents on physical inputs owned by non-residents, and vice versa for debitside.

2.2 Maintenance and repair services: referto the maintenance and repair services supplied by residents to non-residentsor vice versa on goods and equipment (such as vessel, aircraft, and othertransportation facility) owned by the receiving party. The credit side recordsthe maintenance and repair services supplied by the Chinese residents tonon-residents, andvice versa for debit side.

2.3 Transport:refers to the process of transporting people and goods from one place toanother, and the relevant supporting and auxiliary services, as well as postaland delivery services. The credit side records the international transport,postal and delivery services supplied by residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debitside.

2.4 Travel:refers to goods consumed and services purchased by travelers in various economies as non-residents. The credit side records the goods and servicesprovided by the Chinese residents to non-residents who have stayed in China forless than one year, as well as non-residents studying abroad and seeking medical treatment for indefinite period of stay. The debit side records thegoods and services purchased by the Chinese residents when traveling, studying or seeking medical services abroad from non-residents.

2.5 Construction services:refer to the establishment, renovation, maintenance or expansion of fixedassets in the form of buildings, land improvement, roads, bridges and dams andother engineering buildings of engineering nature, relevant installation,assembly, painting, pipeline construction, demolition and project management,as well as site preparation, measurement and blasting and other specialservices. The credit side records the construction services provided by theChinese residents outside the economic territory. The debit side records theconstruction services received by the Chinese residents in the Chinese economicterritory from non-residents.

2.6 Insuranceand pension services: refers tovarious insurance services and commission to agents related with insurancetransaction. The credit side records the life insurance and annuity, non-lifeinsurance, reinsurance, standardized guarantee services and relevant supportingservices supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debitside.

2.7 Financialservices: refer to financial intermediationand supporting services, excluding those covered by insurance and pensionservices. The credit side records the financial intermediation and supportingservices supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side.

2.8 Chargesfor the use of intellectual property:refer to licensed use of intangible, non-productive/non-financial assets andexclusive rights between residents and non-residents and the licensed use ofexisting original works or prototypes. The credit side records the intellectualproperty-related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side.

 2.9 Telecommunications, computer andinformation services: refer tocommunications services between residents and non-residents and transactions ofservices related to computer data and news, excluding commercial servicesdelivered via telephone, computer and Internet. The credit side records thetelecommunications, computer and information services supplied by residents tonon-residents, andvice versa for debit side.

2.10Otherbusiness services: refer toother types of services between residents and non-residents, including researchand development services, professional and management consulting services,technical and trade-related services. The credit side records the otherbusiness services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa fordebit side.

2.11 Personal,cultural and recreational services: referto transactions of personal, cultural and recreational services betweenresidents and non-residents, including audiovisual and related services (films,radio, television programs and music recordings) and other personal, culturaland recreational services (health, education, etc.). The credit side recordsthe related services supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debitside.

2.12Government goods and services n.i.e:refer to various goods and services provided and purchased by governments andinternational organizations not included in other categories of goods andservices. The credit side records the goods and services not included elsewhereand supplied by the Chinese residents to non-residents, and vice versa for debit side.