The State Administration of Foreign Exchange released the preliminary data of the balance of payments for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2023 on the 18th. Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said that China's balance of payments will remain basically balanced in 2023. Among them, the current account surplus was 264.2 billion US dollars, and the ratio of the surplus to the GDP in the same period was 15%, which continues to be in a reasonable equilibrium range; Cross-border capital flows have stabilized and improved, and investment in China has generally maintained a net inflow pattern.
First, the scale of the surplus of goods is the second highest in the past years. In 2023, China's balance of payments goods surplus will be 608 billion US dollars, second only to the surplus in 2022. Among them, the export of goods was 3,179.6 billion US dollars, and the import was 2,571.6 billion US dollars, both of which were at a historically high level.
Second, the operation of the service is more balanced. In 2023, China's service deficit will be 229.4 billion US dollars, showing an orderly recovery to the pre-epidemic level. On the one hand, travel and transportation are still the main deficit items of services, among which the scale of overseas study and travel expenditure has recovered to nearly eighty percent of 2019; On the other hand, the surplus of services** continued to grow, of which the surplus of other business services such as consulting and advertising increased by 96% compared with 2019.
Third, there is a net inflow of investment in China. Among them, the net inflow of foreign equity direct investment was US$62.1 billion, and the net inflow in the fourth quarter increased significantly from the previous quarter. According to preliminary estimates, the net inflow of investment in China in the fourth quarter reached a nearly two-year high, and the cumulative net increase in domestic bonds by foreign investors from September to December exceeded US$60 billion.
*: People's ** Reporter Ge Mengchao).
Editor: Shang Pei].
*: People**].