China reports current account surplus of $23.3b in Q3

BEIJING - China's current account surplus reached $23.3 billion in the third quarter of 2018, surging 338 percent from the second quarter, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Friday.

In the July-Sept period, China saw a goods trade surplus of $100.8 billion while reporting a service trade deficit of $80.9 billion, said Wang Chunying, SAFE's spokesperson and chief economist.

China's international balance of payments maintained a basic equilibrium with both the current account and non-reserve financial account in surplus, the newly-released data showed.

The non-reserve financial account posted a surplus of $14 billion in the quarter, with a net $33.9 billion flowing into for securities investment.

The direct investment was balanced as net outbound direct investment totaled $25.1 billion and net foreign direct investment amounted to $25.2 billion.

China's outstanding external debt totaled about $1.91 trillion at the end of September, up 2.3 percent from that at the end of June, data showed.

The increase was mainly due to rises in trade credit amid rising imports and in debt securities as China further opens its bond market to overseas investors, said Wang.