Chinanews.com, February 19, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange recently announced preliminary data on the balance of payments for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the whole year.
Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in response to a reporter’s question on related issues that preliminary data from the balance of payments showed that in 2020, my country’s current account surplus was 298.9 billion US dollars, which was less than the gross domestic product (GDP) in the same period. The ratio is 2%, which continues to be within a reasonable range, cross-border funds flow steadily in both directions, and the balance of payments remains basically balanced.
RMB data map.
Photo by Chinanews reporter Li Jinlei
In view of the characteristics of my country's balance of payments in 2020, Wang Chunying pointed out three points.
First, the trade in goods maintained a high surplus.
In 2020, the surplus in goods trade in terms of balance of payments will be 533.8 billion U.S. dollars.
Among them, exports increased by 4% year-on-year, and imports were basically the same as in 2019, both significantly better than expected.
In terms of quarters, the trade surplus in goods showed a trend of first decline and then rise: due to the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia in the first quarter, the scale of the surplus dropped significantly; in the second to fourth quarters, through effective epidemic prevention and control measures, my country took the lead in resuming work and production to make up for the global The output gap, the surplus recovered quickly.
Second, the deficit in service trade has narrowed.
In 2020, the service trade deficit was 145.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 44%.
Among them, the travel deficit was 116.2 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 47%, mainly due to the limited cross-border travel under the influence of the epidemic, and travel revenue and expenditure shrank sharply.
Third, direct investment continued to have a relatively high surplus, and two-way trading of securities investment was active.
In 2020, the direct investment surplus was US$103.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 78%, of which foreign direct investment was US$109.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12%, and domestic entities’ foreign investment remained rational and orderly; direct investment in China was US$213 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37%. It shows that foreign investors are optimistic about the long-term development potential of my country's economy.
The two-way flow of securities investment has become more active, and both foreign securities investment and investment in securities in China have shown growth.
Wang Chunying said that, on the whole, my country is accelerating the construction of a new development pattern with domestic and international double cycles as the main body and mutual promotion of domestic and international double cycles, and actively promoting the coordinated development of domestic and external demand, import and export, foreign investment and foreign investment, which is beneficial to my country. The balance of payments remained basically balanced.