China maintained a high international payments surplus under its current and
capital accounts in 2006, according to official statistics released on
Thursday.
The surplus of current accounts totaled 249.9 billion U.S.
dollars, and the surplus of capital accounts was ten billion dollars, according
to the balance of international payments statement released by the State
Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Thursday.
Driven by a
"double surplus", China's foreign exchange reserves had reached 1.202 trillion
U.S. dollars by the end of March 2007, up 37.36 percent on the previous
year.
"To a certain extent, the surge is caused by a surplus of domestic
savings against investment and a surplus of domestic supply against demand," the
statement said.
Huge foreign direct investment in China and an increasing imbalance
in global economics and finance also contributed to the surge, it
said.
Recognizing that "the imbalance of China's international payments
had deepened", SAFE said that efforts had to be made to avoid risks and to
ensure financial security since international payments are having an increasing
influence on the country's economy.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)