Chinese banks report net forex purchase

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese banks saw a net foreign exchange purchase in 2021 as the yuan's exchange rate remained generally stable and the cross-border capital flows were maintained in a reasonable and orderly manner.

Chinese lenders bought 279.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of foreign currencies and sold 233.7 billion dollars worth in December, resulting in a net purchase of 46 billion dollars, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.

In 2021, the banks recorded a net forex purchase of 267.6 billion dollars, the data showed.

The Chinese currency remained generally stable at a reasonable and equilibrium level in 2021 amid the country's efforts in balancing epidemic control and economic revival, said Wang Chunying, deputy head of the SAFE.

China's sound long-term fundamentals and efforts to expand the two-way opening-up of the capital market will help keep the flow of cross-border capital stable, according to Wang.

The country will give full play to the role of the yuan exchange rate as an automatic stabilizer in adjusting the macroeconomy and international payments, Wang noted, adding that China's foreign exchange market is expected to maintain the overall stability and see a more balanced development in 2022.

Earlier data showed China's foreign exchange reserves expanded to 3.2502 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of December, up 27.78 billion U.S. dollars from a month earlier.