What’s new: China’s current account surplus hit a 14-year high in 2022, driven by strong goods exports, preliminary official data show.
The current account surplus for the whole year reached $417.5 billion, up 32% from 2021, driven mainly by a $685.6 billion goods trade surplus, said Wang Chunying, a spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), in a Q&A published on Friday.
The current account chiefly includes trade in goods and services. A large current account surplus is typically recorded in countries heavily reliant on exports.
The ratio of the current account surplus to GDP in 2022 was 2.3%, “remaining in a reasonable and balanced range,” Wang said.
SAFE data show that the current account surplus in the fourth quarter stood at $106.8 billion, falling both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
The background: China’s goods exports grew 7% in dollar terms to a record $3.6 trillion last year, resulting in a record trade surplus of $877.6 billion.
But as global demand weakened, exports in the last quarter of the year shrank both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
Related: In Depth: Why China’s Exports Are in the Doldrums
Contact reporter Zhang Yukun (yukunzhang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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