SAFE to check banks' forex biz

China will start regular annual checks of banks' foreign exchange operations to make sure they observe relevant rules, the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday.

The move is a concrete step towards implementing the country's newly approved foreign exchange rules that were set earlier this month and curbs cross-border speculative capital flows, analysts said.

The checks will cover the banks' whole-year operation to see if they abide by foreign exchange management rules, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement after releasing a new management method. Banks will be required to report relevant data to regulators, which will also examine their internal risk control system.