Author:DENG Yuanjing，ZHANG Linlei and CHEN Huimin

The current account balance is a crucial indicator of a country's trade competitiveness and international economic standing. Over the years，China's current account has demonstrated remarkable resilience，serving as the "ballast stone" in maintaining the country's balance of payments (BOP). Looking ahead，the medium- and long-term trend suggests that an increase in the comprehensive strength of the manufacturing industry，the optimization of trading structure，and the diversification of trade partners will provide strong support for China's trade in goods. Additionally，the growth of trade in new producer services and the upgrading of trade in high-tech services will create a new momentum for trade in services，working together to maintain a solid foundation for China's current account surplus.

Steady Growth and Increased Resilience Highlighting Medium- and Long-Term Trends in China's Current Account

Taking a broader view，from 2001 to 2022，China's current account has remained consistent with a surplus which has gone through three distinct stages. The first stage saw a rapid growth of surplus from 2001 to 2008，followed by a fluctuation of surplus from 2009 to 2018 in the second stage，and finally，a further expansion of surplus from 2019 to 2022 in the third stage. In the decade following China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the beginning of the 21th century，the current account surplus grew rapidly and expanded further from 2019 to 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic，China was among the first to effectively control the epidemic and resume work and production，thanks to its strong manufacturing capacity and complete supply chain. This，in turn，has promoted steady growth in foreign trade. According to China's BOP data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)，China's current account surplus in 2022 reached US$401.9 billion，second only to the historical high in 2008，with a year-on-year increase of 13.9%.