SAFE Releases China's International Investment Position as at the End of June 2026
Published: November 4, 2026
Sources & Verification
Primary Source
State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) — Official document ↗
CPG Analysis
AI-assisted summary of the official source linked above, pending human review.
Verification
AI-assisted summary · generated Nov 4, 2026 · pending human review
This summary was generated by AI from the linked official source. It has not been reviewed line-by-line by a human editor.
⚠ This is a policy signal, not a confirmed rule.
No immediate compliance change has been identified. Monitor for official implementation documents.
⚡ Impact at a Glance
Who is affected
Cross-border investment, portfolio and fund management, banking and foreign exchange services
Cities / Agencies
Nationwide · State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)
What to do now
Monitor only — no action required
Source & verification
SAFE · AI-assisted summary · generated Nov 4, 2026 · pending human review
What to watch next
SAFE: quarterly International Investment Position and Balance of Payments of Payments releases (next quarter-end data); SAFE: Balance of Payments Report for H2 2026 and full-year 2026; SAFE: revised IIP series under 'Data and Statistics'; SAFE/PBOC: monthly bank FX settlement and cross-border capital flow data
Executive Summary
China's foreign exchange regulator published its quarterly snapshot of what the country owns abroad versus what foreigners own in China. At the end of June 2026, China held USD 12.18 trillion in external financial assets against USD 8.36 trillion in liabilities, leaving a net creditor position of USD 3.82 trillion. The figures show China remains a large net creditor, with reserve assets and direct investment abroad making up the bulk of assets, while foreign direct investment into China accounts for half of all liabilities. SAFE also released a companion Balance of Payments Report for the first half of 2026 to help readers interpret the numbers.
Key Points
China's external financial assets reached USD 12,180.4 billion at end-June 2026, against external liabilities of USD 8,355.5 billion, for net external assets of USD 3,824.9 billion.
Reserve assets were the single largest asset category at USD 3,786.3 billion, or 31% of total external assets, followed by direct investment assets at USD 3,584.9 billion (29%) and other investment assets at USD 2,600.5 billion (21%).
Portfolio investment assets stood at USD 2,157.2 billion (18% of assets), while financial derivative assets were small at USD 51.5 billion (0.4%).
On the liability side, direct investment liabilities of USD 4,170.0 billion made up 50% of the total, portfolio investment liabilities were USD 2,623.2 billion (31%) and other investment liabilities USD 1,540.4 billion (18%).
Within direct investment assets, equity and investment fund shares were USD 4,032.9 billion and debt instruments USD 552.1 billion; within direct investment liabilities, equity was USD 3,881.2 billion and debt USD 288.8 billion.
In SDR terms, assets were SDR 8,981.9 billion, liabilities SDR 6,161.4 billion and net external assets SDR 2,820.5 billion, converted at the end-of-quarter SDR/USD exchange rate; SAFE noted the data are subject to regular revision.
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