Measures for Reporting Balance of Payments Statistics (Revised in 2013)

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No. 642

November 9, 2013

(Approved by the State Council on August 30, 1995, promulgated by the People's Bank of China on September 14, 1995, and revised according to the Decision of the State Council on Revising the Measures for Reporting Balance of Payments Statistics on November 9, 2013)

Article 1 In order to improve balance of payments statistics, these Measures are formulated according to the Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 2 The scope of reporting balance of payments statistics covers all and any economic transactions between Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents as well as the status of foreign financial assets and liabilities of Chinese residents.

Article 3 In these Measures, Chinese residents refer to:
1. natural persons who stay in the territory of China for not less than one year, except for students and persons accepting medical treatment who are from foreign countries and the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and foreign staff members of foreign embassies and consulates in China and their family members;
2. Chinese persons who stay abroad for a short-time (with an overseas stay of less than one year), study abroad, or accept medical treatment aboard, and staff members of Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries and their family members;
3. legal persons of enterprises and institutions (including foreign-invested enterprises, and foreign-invested financial institutions) and China-based agencies (excluding China-based agencies of international organizations and foreign embassies and consulates in China) of overseas legal persons, which are legally established within the territory of China; and
4. state organs (including Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries), social organizations and troops of China.

Article 4 These Measures apply to all the areas within the territory of China, including the bonded areas and bonded warehouses, etc. established within the territory of China.

Article 5 The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (hereinafter referred to as the "SAFE"), according to the procedures specified in the Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China, is responsible for organizing and implementing the reporting of balance of payments statistics, and supervising and inspecting such reporting; surveying, summarizing and announcing the status of balance of payments; formulating and revising the detailed implementing rules of these Measures; and preparing and issuing the forms and statements of reporting balance of payments statistics. Relevant governmental departments shall assist in reporting balance of payments statistics.

Article 6 The reporting of balance of payments statistics is subject to the principle of reporting by transaction subjects, adopting the measures of combining indirect reporting with direct reporting and reporting on transaction-by-transaction basis with regular reporting.

Article 7 Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents carrying out economic transactions within the territory of China shall, according to the provisions, report the information about balance of payments in a timely, accurate and complete manner.

Article 8 Where a Chinese resident carries out a transaction with a non-Chinese resident through a domestic financial institution, the Chinese resident shall report the transaction details to the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch through the financial institution.

Article 9 Institutions that provide such services as depositary trust and clearing within the territory of China and dealers that operate or act as clients to carry out such transactions as foreign securities, futures and options shall report to the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch foreign transactions and relevant balance of payments and dividends.

Article 10 Various types of financial institutions within the territory of China shall directly report to the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch the information about their proprietary foreign operations, including their foreign financial assets and liabilities and the change therein, relevant receipt and disbursement of profits and interests, as well as the receipt and disbursement of foreign financial services and other receipt and disbursement; and perform the obligations relating to the activities that Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents report balance of payments statistics through the financial institutions.

Article 11 Non-financial institutions in China that open their accounts outside of China shall directly report to the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch the transactions conducted through the overseas accounts with non-Chinese residents and the balance of such accounts.

Article 12 Foreign-invested enterprises, enterprises with outbound direct investment and other non-financial institutions with foreign financial assets and liabilities which are within the territory of China must directly report to the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch their foreign financial assets and liabilities and the change therein, and relevant receipt and disbursement of profits, dividends and interests.

Article 13 Chinese residents, as individuals, with foreign financial assets and liabilities shall, according to the provisions of the SAFE, report relevant information about their foreign financial assets and liabilities.

Article 14 The SAFE or its branch or sub-branch may conduct sampling survey or general survey with regard to balance of payments.

Article 15 The SAFE or its branch or sub-branch has the power to investigate and verify the information reported by Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents, and the reporters and relevant institutions and individuals shall provide the materials and convenience necessary for such investigation and verification.

Article 16 The SAFE and its branches and sub-branches shall strictly keep confidential specific data reported by the reporters, which is only used for the balance of payments statistics. Unless otherwise specified by the law, the personnel who carry out the balance of payments statistics shall not provide specific data reported by reporters to any institution or individual in any way.
Banks, dealers, and institutions that provide such services as depositary trust and clearing shall strictly keep confidential specific data reported by reporters, of which they are aware in the course of handling their operations.


Article 17 Where Chinese residents and non-Chinese residents fail to report the balance of payments statistics according to the provisions, the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch punishes them according to Article 48 of the Administrative Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange.

Article 18 The personnel who carry out the balance of payments statistics are subject to the penalty legally if they violate Article 16 hereof.
Where the SAFE or its branch or sub-branch, banks, dealers, and institutions that provide such services as depositary trust and clearing violate Article 16 hereof, legal liability is to be investigated legally.

Article 19 The SAFE formulates the Implementing Rules for the Measures for Reporting Balance of Payments Statistics according to these Measures.

Article 20 These Measures become effective on January 1, 1996.