Chinese yuan Photo:VCG
China will further enrich and make good use of its policy toolbox to guard against the overadjustment in the yuan's exchange rate and abnormal cross-border capital flows, amid a complex and rapidly evolving external environment, the head of China's foreign exchange regulator said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Lujiazui Forum, a professional forum in the finance industry that kicked off in Shanghai on Wednesday, Zhu Hexin, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), stressed that there is a solid foundation for China's foreign exchange market to maintain stable operations and the yuan's exchange rate to remain basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level.
Since the beginning of this year, the US dollar's exchange rate and US bond yields have generally rebounded, and volatility in the global foreign exchange market has increased, with non-US currencies generally coming under pressure, Zhu said.
"Our country's foreign exchange market also faces increasing challenges. However, it again withstoods the test and shows relatively strong resilience and stability," he said, pointing to the generally stable trends in the yuan's exchange rate against a basket of major currencies, as well as the international balance of payments and the current-account surplus.
Notably, foreign investors' enthusiasm for yuan-denominated assets continues to improve, officials said. In May, foreign investors bought a net $32 billion worth of domestic bonds, up 86 percent month-on-month and at a relatively high historical level, according to the SAFE.
Thanks to a solid rebound in China's foreign trade, the net inflow of funds under the merchandise trade category increased 76 percent month-on-month and 23 percent year-on-year in May, Wang Chunying, a spokesperson for the SAFE, said on Monday.
The figures offer a resounding rebuttal to claims of "capital flight" from China hyped by some Western media outlets, analysts said, noting that recent developments showed increased global confidence in the recovery of the Chinese economy.
In May, the IMF raised its forecast for China's GDP growth to 5 percent in 2024, an upward revision of 0.4 percentage points, while the World Bank earlier this month raised its forecast for China's 2024 growth to 4.8 percent, from its previous forecast of 4.5 percent.
Moreover, many indicators, including industrial output and retail sales, showed that the Chinese economy continued to rebound in May.
The solid economic fundamentals, the resilience of China's market and the foreign exchange market's rich experience in coping with risks mean that China's foreign exchange market will maintain stable operations, and the yuan's exchange rate will remain basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level, Zhu said on Wednesday.
"We will continue to pay close attention to changes in the external environment, further enrich and make good use of the policy toolbox, and prevent the risks of overadjustments of the yuan's exchange rate or abnormal cross-border capital flows," the SAFE head said.
中国外汇管理局局长周三表示，在复杂且快速变化的外部环境中，中国将进一步丰富和充分利用其政策工具箱，以防范人民币汇率过度调整和异常跨境资本流动。
中国人民银行副行长、国家外汇管理局局长朱鹤新周三在上海开幕的金融业专业论坛陆家嘴论坛上发表讲话时强调，中国外汇市场保持稳定运行，人民币汇率基本稳定在合理平衡水平，有着坚实的基础。朱鹤新说，自今年年初以来，美元汇率和美国债券收益率普遍反弹，全球外汇市场波动加剧，非美元货币普遍承压。
“我国外汇市场也面临着越来越大的挑战。然而，它再次经受住了考验，显示出相对较强的弹性和稳定性，“朱鹤新说，并指出，人民币兑一篮子主要货币的汇率趋势总体稳定，以及国际收支和经常账户盈余。
政府人员表示，值得注意的是，外国投资者对人民币计价资产的热情继续提高。根据外管局的数据，5月份，外国投资者净购买了价值320亿美元的国内债券，环比增长86%，处于相对较高的历史水平。
外管局发言人王春英周一表示，由于中国外贸强劲反弹，5月份商品贸易类资金净流入环比增长76%，同比增长23%。 分析人士表示，这有力地反驳了一些西方媒体大肆宣传的中国“资本外逃”的说法，并指出最近的事态发展表明，全球对中国经济复苏的信心增强。
今年5月，国际货币基金组织将2024年中国GDP增长预测上调至5%，上调0.4个百分点，而世界银行本月早些时候将中国2024年经济增长预测从此前预测的4.5%上调至4.8%。 此外，包括工业产出和零售销售在内的许多指标显示，中国经济在5月份继续反弹。 朱镕基周三表示，坚实的经济基本面、中国市场的韧性以及外汇市场应对风险的丰富经验意味着中国外汇市场将保持稳定运行，人民币汇率将基本稳定在合理平衡的水平。
“我们将继续密切关注外部环境的变化，进一步丰富和利用好政策工具箱，防范人民币汇率过度调整或跨境资金流动异常的风险，”外汇局局长表示。
