A bank staff member counts RMB and US dollar notes on Aug 28, 2019. (PHOTO / SIPA)
BEIJING – China's foreign exchange reserves expanded in December as the US dollar weakened against other major currencies, driving up the value of the country's non-dollar holdings, official data showed Friday.
China's forex holdings amounted to $3.2502 trillion at the end of December, up $27.78 billion, or 0.86 percent, from a month earlier, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
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"The forex market has maintained stable operation, with active and orderly transactions," SAFE deputy head Wang Chunying said, commenting on the data.
Wang attributed the rise to factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and monetary policy expectations in major countries, which led to a weakening dollar and pushed up the value of China's non-dollar assets.
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Although there are still uncertainties in the global financial market, China's strong economic resilience and sound long-term fundamentals will help to keep the forex reserves basically stable, according to Wang.
Friday's data also showed China's gold reserves came in at $113.1 billion by the end of last month.