Preliminary Data Issued on China’s Balance of International Payments

November 6, 2012 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: < 1 minute

Nov. 6 – China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) released the preliminary data on China’s balance of payments (BOP) for the third quarter of 2012 on October 26, 2012. Details for the balance of international payments are listed below.

Current accounts maintaining basic balance

In the third quarter of 2012, the surplus of current accounts amounted to US$70.6 billion, among which:

Goods trade surplus reached US$102.7 billion
Service trade deficit reached US$29.9 billion
Income deficit reached US$3.6 billion
Current transfer surplus reached US$1.4 billion

For the first three quarters, the accumulative surplus reached US$147.8 billion, taking up 2.6 percent of GDP over the same period (a 0.3 percent year-on-year decline), which is within the internationally recognized level.

Capital and financial accounts experiencing net outflows

In the third quarter, capital and financial accounts trailed off greatly from the modest deficits seen in the first and second quarters, with the Q3 deficit reaching US$71 billion. That number brings the accumulative deficit for the first three quarters of 2012 to US$85.4 billion, compared with US$234.1 billion over the same period a year earlier.

Foreign exchange reserve assets witnessing shape growth recession

In the third quarter, only US$300 million has been added to foreign exchange reserve assets, with the accumulative growth for the first three quarters standing at US$64 billion.

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