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 in October 2022. The SAFE Deputy Administrator and Press Spokesperson Wang Chunying answered media questions on China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments of October 2022.

Q: Could you brief us on China’s foreign exchange receipts and payments in October 2022?

A: China’s cross-border capital flow remained within a reasonable range in October. Trade in goods, foreign direct investment and other projects continued to play a fundamental role in stabilizing capital inflows. In October, cross-border funds related to the current account showed a certain scale of net inflow, up by 43% year-on-year. Specifically, trade in goods in terms of foreign-related receipts and payments saw a net inflow of USD 32.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19%. Besides, foreign direct investment capital maintained a net inflow. To be more specific, foreign investment in China’s bond market continued to recover, which reflected the resilience of China’s foreign-related economic development. It showed that foreign investors’ willingness to invest in China and allocate RMB assets in the long term remained generally stable. At the end of the year, it is usually a period of time when Chinese export enterprises collect payments and foreign investment companies plan out their investment intensively, and as a result, the related cross-border capital inflows tend to increase, which helps further strengthen the support for the foreign exchange market.

In the future, the external environment will remain complex and volatile. With the development of economy and the evolution of inflation dynamics, there will be adjustments and changes in the monetary policies of major developed economies and their spillover effects on the world. Recently, the US dollar exchange rate has declined somewhat. China maintained strong resilience, great potential, and large room for maneuver in its economy. As China has continued to further optimize the epidemic prevention and control measures, the recovery of the Chinese economy will continue to consolidate. In the meantime, the structure of China’s international balance of payments has become more stable, the resilience of the foreign exchange market has been significantly enhanced through reform and opening-up, the macro-prudential adjustment tools have continued to improve, and the foundation and conditions for resisting external shocks have become more solid. As a result, China’s cross-border capital flow and foreign exchange market are expected to continue the steady and orderly development.