The foreign exchange reserves issued by Reuters, also known as foreign exchange reserves, refer to the foreign exchange part of the international reserve assets held by a government, that is, the creditor's rights held by a government in foreign currency. It is an asset held by the national monetary authority and can be converted into foreign currency at any time. In a narrow sense, foreign exchange reserve is an important part of a country's economic strength, and it is a foreign exchange accumulation used by a country to balance international payments, stabilize exchange rates and repay foreign debts. Broadly speaking, foreign exchange reserves refer to assets denominated in foreign exchange, including cash, foreign bank deposits and foreign securities. Foreign exchange reserve is an important part of a country's international liquidity, which has an important influence on balancing international payments and stabilizing exchange rate.

China's foreign exchange reserves are mainly composed of four parts: first, a huge trade surplus; Second, the net inflow of foreign direct investment has increased significantly; Third, the continuous increase of foreign loans; The fourth is the inflow of "hot money" caused by the expectation of RMB appreciation (estimated to have exceeded $50 billion in early 2008 and $654.38+000 billion in early 2009).

As a national asset, China's foreign exchange reserves are managed by the China State Administration of Foreign Exchange under the People's Bank of China, and some actual business operations are carried out by the Bank of China.

1. Currency composition

Recently, according to a person from China's foreign exchange administration, the currency structure of China's foreign exchange reserves is 65% in US dollars, 26% in euros, 5% in pounds and 3% in yen, which is basically consistent with the global situation.

2. Structural reasons for foreign exchange reserves

There are several historical and international financial theoretical reasons why China's foreign exchange reserve structure is dominated by US dollar assets: 1. The economic activities of the reserve currency issuing countries are dominated by the domestic economy. Although the United States accounts for a large proportion in international trade, compared with the huge GDP of the United States, the proportion is still very low, far below the corresponding indicators of Japan, Germany and Switzerland. The main economic activities of the latter three countries are export-oriented, and their currencies are easily disturbed by international capital flows and fluctuate greatly. 2. Except the United States, the central banks of Japan, Germany and Switzerland refused to let their currencies play a more important role in the international financial market; 3. The US dollar is an international means of payment, a transaction intermediary and a means of value storage formed in history; 4. Two thirds of international trade is settled in US dollars; 5. Most wholesale transactions in the international financial market are conducted in US dollars, and the financial operations of central banks in various countries are mainly in US dollars; 6. The foreign exchange reserves of major countries are mainly US dollar assets; 7. International syndicated loans and most transactions in international bond markets are in US dollars or US dollar bonds.