China reports current account surplus in first nine months

BEIJING - China's current account surplus was $208.9 billion in the first nine months of the year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said Friday.

Of the total, the surplus under trade in goods came in at $454.2 billion, and the deficit under trade in services was $168.2 billion, data released by the administration shows.

The ratio of current account surplus to gross domestic product stood at 1.6 percent during the period, remaining within a reasonable range, said Wang Chunying, spokesperson for the administration.

Despite a complicated external environment, the Chinese economy has maintained its recovery trend and growth momentum, which will continue to underpin the basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, Wang said.