China's current account surplus remains reasonable in 2017

BEIJING - China's current account surplus remained within a reasonable range last year, the country's foreign exchange regulator said Thursday.

The current account surplus stood at $164.9 billion in 2017, accounting for 1.3 percent of GDP, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The non-reserve financial account recorded a surplus of $148.6 billion in 2017, compared with a deficit of $416.1 billion in the previous year.

Reserve assets rose $91.5 billion last year.

A basic equilibrium in the balance of payments will continue due to the global economic recovery, sound economic growth and further opening up of China's market, according to SAFE.

The country will continue to run a current account surplus and keep it within a reasonable range, the regulator said.

Cross-border capital movement would remain stable on the whole, it said.

As of the end of 2017, China's external assets reached $6.9 trillion and its external debts stood at $5.1 trillion, up 6 percent and 12 percent, respectively, from the end of 2016.

The country's reserve assets remained the world's largest, with steady outbound and inbound investment.