Static foreign exchange can also be divided into broad sense and narrow sense. Static foreign exchange in a broad sense refers to all assets that can be expressed in foreign currency. Article 3 of the Regulations on the Administration of Foreign Exchange in People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that foreign exchange as mentioned in these Regulations refers to the following means of payment and assets expressed in foreign currencies that can be used for international settlement: ① foreign currencies, including banknotes and coins; ② Foreign currency payment vouchers, including bills, bank deposit vouchers and postal savings vouchers; Foreign currency securities, including government bonds, corporate bonds, stocks, etc. ; (4) Special drawing rights, euros; ⑤ Other foreign exchange assets. The foreign exchange stipulated in these regulations belongs to the broad foreign exchange category and is equivalent to foreign currency assets. Static foreign exchange in a narrow sense, that is, what we usually call cash exchange, refers to the means of payment expressed in foreign currency that can be directly used for international settlement.

Narrow static foreign exchange has the following characteristics: ① international, that is, it must be a financial asset expressed in foreign currency, but not in local currency; (2) convertibility, that is, the holder can freely convert it into other foreign currency payment means; (3) Solvency, that is, it can be used as a means of payment directly in another country unconditionally. According to this definition, securities expressed in foreign currency cannot be regarded as foreign exchange, because they cannot be directly used for international payment.