China News Service, Beijing, February 18 (Reporter Xia Bin) Data released by China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange on the 18th showed that in U.S. dollars, China's current account surplus for the whole of 2023 was US$264.2 billion, of which the goods trade surplus was US$608 billion. US dollar, and the service trade deficit was US$229.4 billion. In the capital and financial account, reserve assets increased by US$15.6 billion.
Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, told reporters that preliminary data from the balance of payments show that China's international balance of payments will remain basically balanced in 2023. Among them, the ratio of the current account surplus to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the same period was 1.5%, which continues to be within a reasonable and balanced range; cross-border capital flows have stabilized and improved, and investment in China has generally maintained a net inflow pattern.
Wang Chunying pointed out that in 2023, China's balance of payments trade surplus in goods would be US$608 billion, second only to the surplus in 2022 and the second highest in history. Among them, exports of goods trade were US$3,179.6 billion and imports were US$2,571.6 billion, both at historically high levels. In 2023, China's economy will continue to recover, the resilience of foreign trade will increase, and the import and export scale of goods trade will increase quarter by quarter, supporting China's current account to maintain a relatively high surplus.
In addition, in 2023, China's services trade deficit will be US$229.4 billion, showing an orderly recovery trend towards pre-epidemic levels. On the one hand, travel and transportation are still the main deficit items in trade in services; on the other hand, surplus items in trade in services maintain growth.
She also mentioned that the net inflow of foreign equity direct investment in 2023 was US$62.1 billion, and the scale of net inflow in the fourth quarter increased significantly from the previous quarter. According to preliminary calculations, securities investment in China also showed net inflows throughout last year. The scale of net inflows in the fourth quarter reached a high in the past two years. From September to December, foreign capital continued to increase its net holdings of domestic bonds by more than US$60 billion. The above shows that more foreign capital is investing in China and allocating RMB assets. (over)