China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Log Four-Month Rise

Chinas Foreign Exchange Reserves Log Four-Month Rise

According to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE）， Chinas foreign exchange reserves stood at US $3.1544 trillion by the end of July 2020， up 1.4 percent from the end of June. Overall， exchange rates， fluctuations in asset prices， and cross-border capital flows all contributed to Julys expansion.

Chinas foreign exchange market ran smoothly in July， with the supply and demand of foreign exchange basically balanced， said Wang Chunying， deputy director and spokesperson of SAFE.

Major economies， such as the U.S. and Europe， have stepped up fiscal stimulus and maintained ultra-loose monetary policies. As a result， non-U.S.-dollar currencies on the international financial market have strengthened against the U.S. dollar.

Market analysts are optimistic about the future stability of the size of Chinas foreign exchange reserves. The fundamentals for the countrys longterm sound economic growth have not changed， and a new economic growth pattern， in which domestic demands play an increasingly dominant role， and both domestic and international markets reinforce each other， is taking shape. These factors provide solid support for the long-term stability of Chinas foreign exchange market.

A New Type of Urbanization to Be Strengthened

Chinas State Council has planned to strengthen newtype urbanization construction， expand domestic demand， and improve peoples lives at an executive meeting held late July.

It urged efforts to strengthen development of weak areas in cities， and improve public facilities and services in county-level areas as more migrant workers are settling down in urban areas.

At present， Chinas urbanization drive is still underway. In particular， the demands of migrant workers settling down in urban regions and the renovation of rundown downtown communities will inject robust impetus to Chinas economic growth in the future， the meeting said.

The central government will support flexible employment through multiple channels to increase peoples income， according to the meeting. While encouraging individuallyowned businesses， the State Council called for preferential policies for key groups including college graduates， migrant workers and the unemployed in terms of loans and taxation among other areas， and for social security subsidies to people supporting their lives with gig jobs.

Chinas Machinery Industry Earns a Profit of RMB 552.52 Bln in the First Half of 2020

According to the latest data released by the China Machinery Industry Federation， the machinery industry generated a total revenue of RMB 9.55 trillion （US $1.37 trillion）， of which RMB 552.52 billion（US $79.51 billion） were profits， during the first half of this year. It is expected that the machinery industry will gradually pick up， and log an uptick throughout the year.

Since March， with the support of national policies， such as tax cuts， incentives， and subsidies offered to businesses， various industrial sectors have registered stable performance.

Of the total revenue generated by the machinery industry over the first half of this year， a whopping RMB 7.11 trillion （US $1.02 trillion） was generated in strategic emerging industries.

Some sectors seized new opportunities during the crisis. In the first half of the year， the agricultural machinery industry recovered rapidly， and the industrial structure was optimized.

Benefiting from increasing investment in and accelerated construction of power projects， the energy equipment industry was on an improving trajectory over the first six months， and reversed the negative business trend with a profit increase of 2.88 percent.

Financial Support Pledged to Real Economy

The Peoples Bank of China（PBC）， the central bank， pledged greater effective support for the recovery of the real economy and sustainable economic development in its second-quarter monetary policy report released recently. The PBC will use various monetary tools to improve the accessibility of sufficient liquidity to micro， small and medium-sized enterprises amid efforts to tide them over difficulties brought by the COVID-19 epidemic.

Chinas prudent monetary policies have been implemented in a more flexible and targeted manner， according to the report. The PBC vowed it will ensure that loans are granted in line with the actual capital needs of market entities and that funds are invested in the real economy in a stable and orderly manner.

The central bank also urged the financial system to offer concrete benefits to businesses through a series of policies， such as reducing comprehensive financing costs， lending at preferential interest rates， and allowing small and micro businesses to postpone payments of loans and interest rates.

In the context of increasing downward economic pressure， many meetings at the central government level this year proposed to increase medium- and long-term financial support to the manufacturing sector， and better facilitate financing for private and smaller enterprises.