China continues 'reasonable' current account surplus

BEIJING -- China continued to see a "reasonable" current account surplus in the first three quarters, while imports and exports both rose steadily, the country's foreign exchange regulator said Monday.

The current account surplus stood at $106.3 billion in the first nine months, accounting for 1.2 percent of national GDP, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The non-reserve financial account recorded a surplus of $60.8 billion, according to a SAFE report.

"The data suggests China's cross-border capital flow has further stabilized, and the foundation for a balanced international payment sheet would be more solid," the report said.

There had been concerns over capital flowing out of the Chinese market in the second half of 2016, when the economy was facing downward pressure and the yuan was in the middle of a losing streak against the US dollar.

In January, China's forex reserves had plunged below $3 trillion, but as the economy now stands on a firmer footing and the yuan has continued to stabilize, the stockpile has increased steadily since February.

China's forex reserves rose for the eighth month in a row in September to $3.1085 trillion, the highest level since October 2016.

China's economy continued steady expansion in the first three quarters, with growth at 6.9 percent year-on-year, above the government target of 6.5 percent for 2017.