China maintained a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments in 2024, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) reported on Friday.
According to the latest data, China's current account surplus reached 423.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2024 and the current account surplus to gross domestic product ratio stood at 2.2 percent last year, staying within a reasonable range.
The administration reported China's relatively high surplus of trade in goods, optimized structure of export commodities and more diversified trading partners.
It noted that the imports and exports of China's service trade performed robustly, with the trade deficit remaining generally stable. Cross-border travel expenditures returned to normal levels, while cross-border travel income and trade revenue from emerging productive service grew rapidly.
During the same period, the non-reserve financial account registered a deficit, primarily due to enterprises and other entities leveraging domestic and international markets as well as global resources to optimize their investment layouts, said SAFE, adding that outward direct investment and outward portfolio investment remained active.
Foreign direct investment inflows amounted to 90.9 billion U.S. dollars, and the net inflows of foreign holdings of domestic bonds reached 46.8 billion U.S. dollars. By the end of 2024, China's external assets exceeded 10 trillion U.S. dollars, while its external liabilities approached 7 trillion U.S. dollars, up 6.1 percent and 2.2 percent respectively, compared to the end of 2023.
An official from the administration stated that in 2025, the external environment will become more complex and severe, due to the global economy's insufficient growth momentum, intensified unilateralism and protectionism, and tense geopolitical situations.
The official stressed that China is accelerating the formation of a new development pattern, implementing more proactive and effective macro policies, comprehensively expanding domestic demand, and promoting a sustained and favorable economic recovery, to offer a solid foundation for the stable operation of the balance of payments.
China achieves stable balance in int'l payments for 2024
