(Yicai) Feb. 19 -- Chinese people’s expenditure on overseas education and tourism in foreign currencies last year was nearly back to 80 percent of the level in 2019, according to the latest data.

Last year, China's current account had a surplus of USD264.2 billion in US dollar terms, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange yesterday.

Trade in goods had a surplus of USD608 billion, while trade in services logged a deficit of USD229.4 billion, the administration said. In the capital and financial accounts, reserve assets swelled by USD15.6 billion.

China's foreign trade was basically balanced last year, said SAFE spokeswoman Wang Chunying. The 2023 current account surplus was 1.5 percent of last year’s gross domestic product at USD264.2 billion and continues to be in a reasonable range. Cross-border capital flows are improving, with a net influx of investment into the country.

In US dollar terms, trade in goods had a surplus of USD608 billion, the second highest ever, after 2022’s record.

Although trade in services logged a deficit, dragged down in particular by the tourism and transport sectors, it is recovering towards pre-pandemic levels. The tourism sector accounted for 78 percent of the total deficit at USD180.6 billion.

Commercial services, including consulting and advertising, recorded a surplus of USD38 billion, nearly double the level in 2019.

Editor: Kim Taylor