China Plans New FX Measures for Trade and Cross-Border Business

China’s foreign-exchange regulator plans to ease trade settlement and revise currency management for cross-border investment, as the country’s current-account transaction volume topped $8 trillion in 2025.

State Administration of Foreign Exchange Administrator Zhu Hexin, also a deputy governor of China’s central bank, outlined three initiatives at the Financial Street Forum in Beijing on Oct. 19. The plans cover trade payments, foreign-exchange management for capital-account activity and broader currency-market access for securities firms. “We plan to roll out a batch of incremental measures,” Zhu said.

One initiative would address the settlement needs of foreign-trade businesses, including those involved in newer forms of trade. Another would optimize foreign-exchange management for capital-account activity, including cross-border investment, financing and fund allocation. SAFE also plans to widen a pilot that allows securities companies to conduct foreign-exchange settlement and sales.

SAFE called for financial institutions to strengthen exchange-rate risk services for businesses, with small and midsize firms a particular focus. It also sought closer coordination between onshore and offshore markets.

China’s current-account transaction volume grew from slightly more than $300 billion in 1996 to over $8 trillion in 2025. Companies and banks held nearly 70% of the country’s external financial assets at the end of 2025, compared with about 30% at the end of 2010.

By Sept. 30, 2026, SAFE’s trade, cross-border finance and pilot free trade zone packages had benefited more than 150,000 business entities. The packages covered over $3 trillion in business volume.

At the end of June 2026, more than 50,000 creditworthy companies could conduct foreign-exchange business without review, about 30% more than at the end of 2025. Those businesses processed more than $580 billion in the first half of 2026, twice the year-earlier amount, while average processing times fell by more than 50%.

Zhu gave no timetable, eligibility details or operating procedures for the planned measures and expanded pilot.