China's foreign exchange reserves have remained above 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars for more than nine consecutive months, official data showed on Saturday.
The amount totaled 3.2882 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of August, an increase of 31.8 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.98 percent compared to the end of July, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said.
Due to factors such as macroeconomic data, monetary policies and expectations in major economies, the U.S. dollar index declined while global financial asset prices generally increased in August, experts say.
"China's export structure continues to improve, the proportion of general trade has steadily increased, the competitiveness of 'new trio' and other products has gradually strengthened, the policy dividends of free trade zones have continued to be released, new foreign trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce and offshore trade have continued to emerge, and economic and trade cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative is increasingly deepening," said Wen Bin, the chief economist of the China Minsheng Bank.
China's economic operation is generally stable and has made steady progress, which will help sustain the stability of the country's foreign exchange reserves.
"At the same time, as China's high-level financial opening up steadily expands, foreign institutional investors continue to be optimistic about China's capital market, and the amount of Chinese bonds they hold has reached a record high, which also provides support for the stability of our scale of foreign exchange reserves," Wen said.
China's forex reserves remain above 3.2 trillion US dollars
A festive atmosphere is building up as people across China have been making preparations to ring in the Spring Festival next week, with lights and decorations set everywhere, and with New Year goods markets all seeing booming sales.
The Spring Festival, which marks the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important annual holiday in China, when people across the country return to their hometowns for Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations and family reunion.
In Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, a grand lantern show is in its final stage of preparation before opening to the public ahead of the eve of the 2025 Chinese Lunar New Year. To be lit up on Wednesday, the large light sets presented at the event will draw numerous visitors, with lanterns that replicate 38 cultural relics as the highlight.
Buying New Year flowers has been a custom for Chinese people. In Yancheng City of east China's Jiangsu Province, various flowers which have auspicious meanings are already in high demand.
This year, tulips bred locally have been put on sale, and quickly become a favorable choice for many customers.
"I have never seen this kind of flower before. I think it is really bright-colored. Therefore, I decided to buy some to enhance the festive atmosphere at home," said Zhang Jinjian, a local resident.
The Anchang ancient town in Shaoxing City of east China's Zhejiang Province has a time-honored custom of making aired sausages and spiced duck.
As the Spring Festival draws near, plenty of visitors and tourists choose to purchase these local delicacies as ingredients for their Chinese New Year feast.
"The number of tourists has been increasing, so the sales of our spiced meat have been quite good. Compared with the same period of last year, our sales is expected to increase by about 50,000 yuan (about 6,835 U.S. dollars). We will earn an additional 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (27,335 to 41,000 U.S. dollars) in sales during this whole winter," said Yang Jing, owner of a local spiced meat shop.
In southwest China's Yunnan Province, the "Tiaocai dance" is a time-honored tradition of the Yi ethnic minority group. The dance is presented in the form of serving dishes while dancing to the rhythm. It usually happens on a joyous or grand occasion.
Since the most significant annual festival is around the corner, Yi people have dressed up in traditional costumes, and got ready to welcome the arrival of the Chinese Lunar New Year with the special dance.
People across China make preparations to welcome Spring Festival