China's current account surplus decreases
( 2003-10-17 21:46) (Xinhua)
China's current account surplus in international payments dropped 18 percent
to 11.1 billion US dollars in the first half of 2003, the State Administration
of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Friday.
The SAFE attributed the decrease to the shrinking goods trade surplus and
deficit increase in services. During the first six months of 2003, China's
foreign goods trade surplus totaled 13.5 billion US dollars, down 35 percent on
a year-on-year basis. This was the main factor causing the account surplus
decrease.
During the same period, the account deficit in services rose 43 percent to
6.2 billion US dollars, SAFE figures show. Affected by the severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, China's international tourism surplus
dropped 95 percent to only 40 million US dollars in the period.
SAFE statistics also showed China's income account deficit decreased 57
percent to 3.6 billion US dollars in the January-June period, which was due to
fast growth of foreign investment.
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