On June 21, 2024, the US Treasury raised concerns over discrepancies in China's reported trade surplus figures. According to Chinese customs data, the country is running a much larger trade surplus compared to what is reported in its balance of payments. The US Treasury has called on Beijing to clarify the reasons behind the $230 billion difference. The newly issued Treasury foreign exchange report highlights this issue, particularly focusing on China's current account data. The report suggests that the explanation provided by China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is not convincing. Additionally, the analysis of China's financial account in the report is deemed less robust compared to the current account analysis.
Chinese customs data suggest the country is running a trade surplus that’s much bigger than the one reported in its balance of payments, and Beijing should clarify why the numbers are different, the US Treasury said https://t.co/izf9frwGFJ via @bpolitics
The analysis of China's financial account in the just released foreign currency report is not as strong as the analysis of the current account puzzle. The Treasury still (unfortunately) hasn't figured out how to incorporate the state banking data ... 1/
The most important part of the newly issued Treasury foreign exchange report is likely to be the box on China's current account data -- pushing back (politely) on China's reported numbers 1/ https://t.co/FgylkeZRRJ https://t.co/QIS5aVuILa
Add the US Treasury to the list of people who don’t really buy SAFE’s explanation about why China’s goods trade surplus was $230 billion smaller than the customs agency said. https://t.co/dBmkH0Ffyp https://t.co/oACRluBuJe
Chinese customs data suggest the country is running a trade surplus that’s much bigger than the one reported in its balance of payments, and Beijing should clarify why the numbers are different, the US Treasury said https://t.co/HwOfW7iob4