China's current account surplus grows

BEIJING - China's current account surplus rose 19 percent year on year to $330.6 billion last year, or 3 percent of gross domestic product, the foreign exchange regulator said Thursday.

The goods-trade surplus hit $567 billion in 2015, but the service trade posted a deficit of $182.4 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement on its website.

Deficit under the capital and financial account rose to $142.4 billion at the end of December, up from $121.9 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2015, according to the statement.

Reserve assets, most of which are foreign exchange reserves, decreased by $342.9 billion last year, compared with an increase of $118.8 billion in 2014.

China started to post deficits on its capital and financial accounts in the second quarter of 2014 due to rapid increases in overseas investment and speculation on the depreciation of the yuan.

The country will continue to run a current account surplus, capital and financial account deficit in 2016, the SAFE said, adding that risks of cross-border capital movements will be generally under control.

SAFE aims to strike a balance between facilitating trade and investment and controlling risks in 2016, according to the statement.

In addition, SAFE also pledged to step up capital inflow and outflow supervision as well as crack down on foreign exchange violations.