CHINA FOREX: What are the priorities for the Current Account Management Department in 2025?

 

LIU Bin: As China continues to deepen its global integration, cross-border economic activities and personnel exchanges have significantly intensified. The Current Account Management Department remains committed to its public service mandate, enhancing fund settlement efficiency while ensuring compliant foreign exchange services for businesses and individuals.

 

The year 2025 marks the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan and serves as an important milestone for further deepening reform. The Department will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It will fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and earnestly carry out the decisions and arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Financial Work Conference. Efforts will focus on serving development and facilitating people's livelihoods. Two core priorities will be promoting facilitation and preventing risks, with deepening the reform of the management system and service innovation for foreign exchange under the current account as the primary approach. The goal is to continuously enhance the facilitation policies for current account transactions, reduce cross-border trade fund settlement costs, and simultaneously balance development with security. This approach ensures effective regulation and firmly upholds the principle of preventing systemic financial risks.

 

CHINA FOREX: As you mentioned, the current account is closely intertwined with the real economy and people's daily lives. What measures has the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) implemented to serve the development of the real economy and facilitate foreign exchange use for market entities? Additionally, what new objectives have been set for deepening the reform of current account facilitation in 2025?

 

LIU Bin: Over the past year, the Current Account Management Department has focused on the inherent requirements of high-quality development. We have continuously promoted the opening-up and facilitation of current accounts, continuously improving policies to enhance facilitation and deliver tangible benefits to the public. In 2024, we mainly carried out the following work.

 

Firstly, deepening reform and innovation and continuously optimizing foreign exchange management for trade. To promote high-quality trade development and effectively improve the capacity to serve the real economy, in April 2024, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued the Notice on Further Optimizing the Administration of Business of Foreign Exchange from Trade (Hui Fa [2024] No. 11). This notice eliminated the administrative licensing requirement for the "Directory of Enterprises with Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments in Trade". Instead, registration with the directory shall be handled by domestic banks. Banks can now provide one-stop services for registration with the directory, account opening, and foreign exchange receipts and payment, benefiting over 100,000 foreign trade enterprises. Additionally, the review authority for special foreign exchange refund related to goods trade was simplified. For transactions with equivalent to US$200,000 or less, enterprises can directly handle relevant foreign exchange business at the bank , effectively reducing transaction costs for enterprises. Since the implementation of these policies, the number of administrative licensing transactions under the current account has been reduced by over 90%.

 

Secondly, accelerating institutional openness and promoting the facilitation of cross-border trade fund settlement. The pilot projects for the policies of cross-border trade and high-level opening-up continued to expand. In 2024, based on pilot experience, the program was extended to locations including Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, and Chongqing. Local branches were guided to issue detailed implementation measures and strengthen policy promotion. This program has improved the facilitation of foreign exchange receipts and payments for current account transactions, supported new models of international trade settlement by banks and expanded the scope of net settlement for offsetting trade receipts and payments for settlement, stimulating the vitality of operating entities and boosting foreign trade competitiveness. Furthermore, facilitation policies for high-quality enterprises were expanded and optimized, aiming to foster a credit-based entity classification system and nature-based foreign exchange business categorization. This allows banks to streamline business reviews and simplify materials when handling trade foreign exchange receipts and payments for enterprises with good credit, creating a foreign trade environment where "the more creditworthy, the more convenient".

 

Thirdly, optimizing the environment for two-way foreign exchange use and supporting the new landscape of opening-up. On one hand, efforts have focused on continuously improving service offerings. This includes enabling overseas visitors to China to link foreign bank cards to apps such as Alipay and WeChat for convenient QR code payments for daily low-value transactions like transportation, dining, and shopping. Additionally, new payment products were introduced to support foreigners coming to China in using foreign bank cards for payments on domestic e-commerce websites. On the other hand, efforts were made to ensure the foreign exchange needs of major international events and key entities. Support was provided for international events such as the Asian Winter Games by guiding banks to optimize services and simplify procedures for the organizing committee and foreign participants. The requirements for handling foreign exchange in special and complex scenarios, including those concerning foreign personnel at universities and research institutions, were clearly defined to promote the convenience of foreign exchange use.

 

In 2025, the Department will continue to focus on two central tasks: promoting facilitation and preventing risks, with further deepened reforms aimed at supporting the high-quality development of foreign-related economic activities. Firstly, trade-related foreign exchange management will be further optimized to support international trade. The balanced development of facilitation policies will be promoted, with ongoing dynamic assessments of the implementation of pilots with high-level opening-up and timely upgrades to the pilot policies as appropriate. The principle of differentiated management based on entity risk classification will be maintained, optimizing trade credit reporting management for enterprises while ensuring risk control and supporting cost reduction and efficiency improvements. The requests for facilitation policies from some contracting enterprises will also be actively addressed, supporting enterprises with legitimate needs in managing and allocating funds for cross-national and cross-regional projects, thereby improving fund management efficiency. Secondly, the foreign exchange services for foreigners coming to China will be optimized by standardizing and supporting the diversification of payment channels, including mobile payments, online foreign card acquiring service, and other payment methods. The range of service providers and business scenarios will be expanded to optimize the consumer payment experience. Thirdly, more banks will be encouraged to process online foreign exchange services for overseas education expenses, salary-related transactions, and other foreign exchange transactions that fall outside the facilitation quota. Digital channels for document verification and low-value remittances will be continually expanded to reduce costs and improve efficiency in personal foreign exchange services.

 

CHINA FOREX: In recent years, new business forms and models such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade have continuously evolved, injecting new vitality into international trade growth. In the face of rapidly developing and changing markets, how can the Current Account Management Department provide better support for the standardized and healthy development of new foreign trade business forms and accelerate the cultivation of new drivers for foreign trade development?

LIU Bin: New business models of foreign trade represent an important trend in the development of international trade and a key force in promoting China's high-level opening-up. As a major trading nation, China's trade forms are diverse and complex. The SAFE has actively responded to the demands of foreign trade enterprises by optimizing relevant foreign exchange management policies and services. The following measures have been implemented to promote the standardized and healthy development of new foreign trade business forms:

 

Firstly, expanding channels for the settlement of funds in new foreign trade business forms. Cross-border e-commerce is characterized by online operations, high transaction volumes, small amounts, and high frequency. The SAFE supports qualified banks and payment institutions in conducting batch reviews of online automated orders, logistics, and other transaction electronic information, providing small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in cross-border e-commerce with convenient foreign exchange settlement services. Since 2024, over 1.3 million small and micro businesses have directly benefited from this service.

 

Secondly, improving foreign exchange management for market procurement trade. Banks are encouraged to use the customs declaration, goods grouping, and other information collected by the market procurement trade network information platform as reference for customer due diligence. This allows merchants to achieve transparent foreign exchange collection through the platform, effectively preventing fictitious and repeated transactions, and improving the efficiency of fund settlement. Since 2024, over 80% of online self-service foreign exchange settlement and receipts for market procurement nationwide have benefited approximately 200,000 small and micro businesses.

In 2025, the Current Account Management Department will align with emerging trends and characteristics of new foreign trade business forms. It will follow the principle of "encouraging innovation and being accommodative and prudential" and actively respond to reasonable demand for innovative foreign exchange services. Measures will be taken to further support the healthy and orderly development of new foreign trade business. These measures will include optimizing business processes, expanding settlement channels, and improving service quality. Firstly, support will be provided to banks,aiming to offer comprehensive and full-chain foreign exchange settlement services for compliant cross-border e-commerce platforms and integrated foreign trade service enterprises. This will help reduce the settlement costs for micro, small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises. Secondly, it will actively respond to the genuine and reasonable business demands of market entities, categorize and clarify the foreign exchange settlement management principles for new trade forms and continuously expand the scope of electronic transaction foreign exchange payment and receipt entities and regions. This will enhance cross-border payments for a greater number of small and micro businesses.

 

CHINA FOREX: The Current Account Management Department has consistently been proactive in addressing market concerns by introducing a range of facilitation measures tailored to the needs of operating entities. In 2025, what are the plans for further improving policy implementation and enhancing the sense of gain for market entities?

 

LIU Bin: Facilitating authentic and legitimate foreign exchange needs under the current account has always been our fundamental goal. Effectively communicating policies, facilitating their transmission, and ensuring their implementation have also been key priorities in our work. In 2024, we mainly carried out the following tasks: Firstly, coordinated with banks to conduct online inspection on common pitfalls in transactions under current account. This helped assess the understanding and implementation of policies at branches, systematically identify bottlenecks and obstacles affecting foreign exchange receipts and payments, and guide banks in addressing inconvenient issues. Secondly, supported banks in enhancing their business capabilities and service levels by conducting policy training directly for grassroots branches. This helped guide banks in gaining practical experience in handling current account business, addressing issues like lack ofcapabilities in dealing with foreign exchange business in remote areas and grassroots branches, and encouraging them to be more willing to process complex and innovative transactions. Thirdly, we have deepened the "serving the people" initiative by continuously gathering information on business challenges and policy demands through bank "direct connection points" and normal monitoring service mechanisms. Also, we guided local branches and banks to pinpoint where to focus efforts in effectively addressing the real needs of the people, going to the grassroots level to resolve issues, and relentlessly ensuring implementation, with a solid focus on improving foreign exchange service quality.

 

In 2025, the Current Account Management Department will continue to adhere to a people-centered service orientation, aiming to maximize the benefits of facilitation policies for a broader range of market entities. Firstly, improve the precision of policy formulation. Through discussions, field research, and regular surveys through bank "direct connection points", it will understand the most urgent policy demands and business challenges faced by market entities. Based on market needs, it will continuously optimize the supply of facilitation policies, enhancing the precision and effectiveness of policy formulation. Secondly, broaden the scope of facilitation policies. It will focus on policy transmission and business training for small and medium-sized banks in central and western regions, ensuring that more high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from reduced documentation and simplified procedures. Thirdly, further smooth policy communication. It will comprehensively assess the training needs of banks and local branches, conduct targeted training, and share both positive and negative cases and experiences. At the same time, it will continue to include the implementation of facilitation policies in performance evaluations. Through incentives and penalties, it will enhance the capability of frontline branches to handle complex issues and address differentiated and personalized demands, effectively ensuring the "last mile" of policy implementation.

 

CHINA FOREX: What efforts has the Current Account Management Department made to improve management efficiency and prevent potential risks? What new approaches are planned for 2025?

 

LIU Bin: In recent years, the Current Account Management Department has thoroughly implemented the arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Financial Work Conference, consistently balancing high-quality development with high-level security, and continuously improving management efficiency. In 2024, it continued to enhance its capability to address risks and challenges, stabilizing the fundamentals of the current account. It closely monitored changes in both domestic and international economic and financial conditions, as well as emerging issues, while strengthening targeted research on key sectors and businesses to refine macroeconomic risk monitoring and early warning systems. At the same time, it focused on critical channels and risk entities, reinforcing transparent oversight and correlation-based analysis of cross-border capital flows, and further enhancing its capability to identify anomalies and manage risks through micro-regulation of the current account.

 

In 2025, the Current Account Management Department will continue to uphold the bottom line of preventing systemic financial risk, thus providing a solid foundation for the stable operation of the foreign exchange market. Firstly, it will continue to enhance the proactiveness and accuracy of situational analysis and risk assessment, using macro-level assessments to guide micro-regulation and providing a reference for macro-risk evaluation and management decisions concerning the current account. Secondly, it will support banks in enhancing their capability for authenticity verification, strengthening regular two-way communication between frontline branches and the SAFE, and systematically addressing policy interpretation and service issues at banks. By implementing risk alerts and other measure, it will promptly correct any detected discrepancies. Thirdly, it will adhere to a problem- and risk-oriented approach, achieving more precise classification management of current account transaction entities and strengthening the tracking and monitoring of key areas and risk entities. Additionally, it will enhance the cross-line and cross-department mechanism for joint consultation and analysis of complex and difficult cases, as well as the two-way information exchange for risk entities. Through co regulatory efforts and mutual assistance in law enforcement, it will continue to improve regulatory efficiency and foster a fair and orderly business environment.

 

LIU Bin SAFE's Chief Accountant and Director-General of SAFE's Current Account Management Department