Nation’s balance of payments steady

China's international balance of payments continued to see a current account surplus in the second quarter of this year, preliminary official data showed Wednesday.

The country's surplus in the current account stood at $48.2 billion in the second quarter, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the country's top foreign exchange regulator, said Wednesday in a statement on its website.

The country's foreign exchange reserve assets saw an increase of $47.1 billion during the quarter, according to SAFE, but the capital and financial account posted a deficit of $1.6 billon during the second quarter despite $45.3 billion in direct investment net inflows.

The capital account deficit is likely to renew concerns over capital flows out of China, although SAFE released a statement on July 22 downplaying capital withdrawal risks in the second half of this year.

A combination of factors - including the US Federal Reserve hinting at an end to its quantitative easing policy as the US economic recovery accelerates - have caused a slowdown in overseas capital flows to the country over the last two months, the regulator noted.

In the first half, the country's international balance of payments saw a surplus of $95.7 billion in the current account as well as a surplus of $107.8 billion in the capital and finance account, according to the SAFE statistics.

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