China Q3 current account surplus at reasonable level

BEIJING - China's current account surplus accounted for 2.5 percent of GDP in the third quarter of 2016, remaining below "a reasonable level" of 4 percent, a statement from the foreign exchange regulator said Friday.

In the third quarter, the current account surplus rose 11 percent from the second quarter to $71.2 billion, according to preliminary data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Goods trade surplus, major contributor to the current account surplus, rose 9 percent from the previous quarter to $137 billion due to slight recovery in overseas and domestic demand.

Deficit in service trade widened 25 percent to $69.5 billion in the same period, the statement said.

China's current account has witnessed a surplus for 22 consecutive years, mainly due to strong exports in manufactured goods. The proportion of the surplus to China's GDP reached a peak of 10 percent in 2007.