The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released the Balance of Payments (BOP) for the first quarter of 2022 as well as the International Investment Position (IIP) at the end of March 2022. The SAFE deputy administrator and press spokesperson Wang Chunying answered relevant media questions.

Q: Could you brief us on China’s balance of payments for the first quarter of 2022?

A: In the first quarter of 2022, China’s balance of payments maintained general equilibrium. The current account surplus hit the highest record for the same period in history and stood at USD 88.9 billion, with its ratio to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reaching 2.1%, which maintained within a reasonable and balanced range.

First, trade in goods maintained steady growth. In the first quarter of 2022, China’s economy continued to recover and got off to a steady start, and as a result trade in goods in terms of BOP recorded a surplus USD 145 billion, up by 18% year on year. To be specific, the export registered USD 803.1 billion, up by 16% year on year; imports reached USD 658.2 billion, up by 15% year on year. The trade surplus in goods and the scale of exports and imports all hit the highest levels in history for the same period.

Second, trade deficit in services continued to narrow. In the first quarter, the trade deficit in services registered USD 16.7 billion, down by 35% year on year. Among the main items, the travel deficit rose by 53% to USD 29.4 billion, mainly due to the increase in travel expenditure. The deficit in intellectual property royalties reached USD 7.7 billion, up by 11%. The revenue and expenditure of this item increased by 15% and 12% respectively, and it reflected that China has deepened the international cooperation in the field of intellectual property. The transport recorded a surplus of USD 2.9 billion, compared with a deficit of USD 9 billion a year earlier, mainly because overall transport revenue grew faster than spending.

Third, outward investment and foreign investment in China were both robust. In the first quarter, China’s financial account assets increased by USD 129.1 billion, among which reserve assets had a net increase of USD 39.3 billion due to transactions, and non-reserve financial account assets registered a net increase of USD 89.8 billion. Financial account liabilities grew by USD 40.2 billion net. Specifically, China’s outbound direct investment and China’s foreign direct investment have both maintained year-on-year growth, indicating that foreign investors had a strong willingness to invest in China, and at the meantime, China’s foreign direct investment operated in a reasonable and orderly manner.

In general, China effectively coordinated epidemic prevention and control as well as economic and social development, and its fundamentals of long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged, which is conducive to maintaining a basic balance in international payments.

Q: What would you say about China’s international investment position at the end of March 2022?

A: At the end of March 2022, China’s international investment position remained stable, so did the external financial assets and liabilities.

First, China’s external financial assets and external liabilities remained at a relatively high level. By the end of March 2022, China posted external assets of USD 9.2383 trillion and external liabilities of USD 7.2943 trillion, down by 0.9% and 0.6% from the end of 2021 respectively, but remained basically stable. Relevant changes were mainly affected by non-transaction factors such as price fluctuations of global financial assets and book value changes of non-US currencies converted into US dollars.

Second, the overall structure of China’s external financial assets and external liabilities remained stable. In the catalogue of China’s external financial assets, China’s reserve assets exceeded USD 3 trillion, ranking first in the world. The proportion of outward direct investment remained stable. With respect to China’s external liabilities, the foreign direct investment in China accounted for the largest proportion and kept growing in scale, indicating that foreign investors remained confident in long-term investment in China.