China economy resilient enough to remain stable

China has enough foreign exchange reserves and has taken sufficient measures to cope with any shock from a US interest rate hike and future capital flow fluctuations, according to a spokeswoman for the nation’s top foreign exchange regulator.

Wang Chunying, spokeswoman for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said on Thursday that China’s foreign exchange reserves remain plentiful enough to deal with external challenges, after the US Federal Reserve increased rates by 0.25 percent in December, sending positive signals on the recovery of the US economy.

China’s foreign exchange reserves fell to near a sixyear low in December, slightly higher than $3 trillion.

“Fluctuations of foreign exchange reserves are normal, and there should not be too much reading into a headline number,” said Wang.

She said SAFE is well-pre-

... and there should not be too much reading into a headline number.” Wang Chunying, spokeswoman for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange

pared to deal with any abnormal fluctuation in capital flows.

Wang expected a longterm stabilizing trend of the yuan-dollar exchange rate, though short-term pressure would persist for a while.

Data from SAFE showed that in December, the deficit in sales and purchases of foreign exchange was 320.3 billion yuan ($46.3 billion), up from the $33.4 billion in November.

In December, banks saw net forex sales from nonbanking sectors of $298.3 billion, a record high since last January, reflecting that China’s companies and individuals continue to hold on to their forex — a sign that