People’s Republic of China
Economic and trade overview
Key figures
Economy 2011 Trade 2011 (USD billion)
GDP (USD) 7,298 bn Goods Exports 1,812
GDP per capita (USD) 5,416 Imports 1,570
GDP volume growth (year-on-year) + 9.4% Net + 242
Population 1,347.6m Services Exports 185
Bank rate (end 2011) 3.25% Imports 239
Exchange rate RMB / USD (year average) 6.4615 Net – 54
BoP (goods, services & income) as % of GDP + 2.4% Source: IFS, IMF, January 2013International/regional memberships
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC): since 12–14 November 1991.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
since 27 September 1945. (Taiwan occupied
China’s seat at the IMF until 1980.)
World Trade Organization (WTO):
since 11 December 2001.
Government trade policy
Since becoming a WTO member in 2001,
China has been engaged in reforming its trade
regulations to conform to WTO standards.
However, some barriers still remain in place.
Before a business is permitted to trade into
or out of China it must be authorised by the
Foreign Trade Administration
(english.mofcom.gov.cn) and registered with
the State Administration for Industry and
Commerce (www.saic.gov.cn).
China signed its first bilateral trade
agreement with an Asian country as late as
October 2008, but it has now entered into a
number of other international bilateral trade
agreements, including a major trade deal
with the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).
National export credit insurance provider:
China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation
(Sinosure — http://www.sinosure.com.cn).
The state-owned Export-Import Bank of
China (China Eximbank —
english.eximbank.gov.cn) operates under
direction from China’s State Council to
support Chinese exports and provide export
credits and guarantees.
There are currently 13 approved free trade
zones in China for imports and an additional
64 export processing zones.Currency and exchange controls
Official currency: Chinese renminbi (RMB).
Exchange rate arrangement: managed
floating arrangement. The rate is determined
by reference to a basket of international
currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, HKD, CAD,
MYR, RUB, GBP and AUD), within a narrow
floating band of 1 percent above or below
the central rate (3 percent against most
non-USD-linked currencies except the RUB
and MYR, which is 5%).
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China
(PBC — http://www.pbc.gov.cn/english), is responsible
for maintaining the renminbi’s stability.
Despite a relaxation in recent years, China
continues to implement exchange controls.
The State Administration of Foreign
Exchange (SAFE — http://www.safe.gov.cn)
administers foreign exchange controls in
China.
SAFE publishes a list of fees and expenses
that do not require its advance approval for
settlement in foreign currency.