The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released data on foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks as well as cross-border receipts and payments by non-banking sectors for November 2021. The SAFE Deputy Administrator and Press Spokesperson Wang Chunying answered media questions on China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments of November 2021.

Q: Could you brief us on China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments of November 2021?

A: China’s cross-border receipts and payments and foreign exchange market transactions remained active in November, and the foreign exchange market remained generally stable. In terms of total amount, in November, the foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks reached up to US$446.8 billion, while the foreign-related receipts and payments of non-banking sectors totaled US$1,075.2 billion, recording a month-on-month growth of 26% and 23% respectively, which continued the trend of overall growth since 2020. In terms of the balance, the foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks recorded a surplus of US$25.2 billion, higher than that in October. This was mainly accounted for by the increase of foreign exchange settlement of export earnings under trade items. The foreign-related receipts and payments of non-banking sectors also posted a surplus of US$33.1 billion, roughly at the same level as in October. By the end of November, China’s foreign exchange reserves stood at US$3.2224 trillion, which remained basically stable compared with the end of October.

The foreign exchange market expectations were generally stable. According to the willingness to purchase and sell foreign exchange which reflects market expectations, in November, the sales ratio (the ratio of foreign exchanges sold by clients to banks to their foreign-related foreign exchange receipts) recorded 65%, almost the same as compared with the average monthly level from July to October. The purchase ratio (the ratio of foreign exchange bought by clients from banks to their foreign-related foreign exchange payments) reached 64%, 0.9% higher than the average monthly level from July to October. This indicated that the willingness of market entities to sell and purchase foreign exchange remained stable.

The cross-border two-way investment was maintained in a reasonable and orderly manner. In November, the net inflow of foreign direct investment capital has remained at a certain scale, and the net outflow of foreign direct investment capital has registered a steady increase. The net increase in foreign holdings of domestic bonds and stocks totaled US$24.4 billion, indicating that foreign investors’ willingness to hold renminbi assets remained stable.

At present, uncertainties and unstable factors in the external environment are increasing. The COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving around the world while inflation remains high in some countries and major developed economies may accelerate the adjustment of monetary policies. However, China’s economy is resilient. Its macro policies are sound and effective, and the fundamentals of China’s long-term sound economic growth have not changed. Therefore, there is still a solid foundation for the smooth operation of the foreign exchange market.