Trade in goods registers record-high surplus

China registered a surplus of $685.6 billion (4.6 trillion yuan) under trade in goods last year, hitting a record high and rising 22 percent year-on-year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Friday.

The resilient trade surplus in goods has underpinned a current account surplus of $417.5 billion in 2022, which accounted for 2.3 percent of the country's GDP for the year, up 32 percent from 2021, SAFE said.

The $417.5 billion in current account surplus marked the second highest level on record, only behind the levels seen in 2008, according to the administration.

With current account surplus in a reasonable range and foreign direct investment witnessing net inflow, China's international payments were generally balanced last year, said Wang Chunying, deputy head of SAFE.

The country's economic recovery and solid fundamentals are expected to help its international payments to stay generally balanced in 2023, she said.

China's foreign direct investment recorded a surplus of $32.3 billion last year, while trade in services saw a deficit of $94.3 billion, down 6 percent from a year ago, the administration said.