File photo shows a worker counting Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) at a bank in Linyi, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Chunlei)
BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign exchange reserves expanded in December as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies, driving up the value of the country's non-dollar holdings, official data showed Friday.
China's forex holdings amounted to 3.2502 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of December, up 27.78 billion dollars, or 0.86 percent, from a month earlier, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
"The forex market has maintained stable operation, with active and orderly transactions," SAFE deputy head Wang Chunying said, commenting on the data.
Wang attributed the rise to factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and monetary policy expectations in major countries, which led to a weakening dollar and pushed up the value of China's non-dollar assets.
Although there are still uncertainties in the global financial market, China's strong economic resilience and sound long-term fundamentals will help to keep the forex reserves basically stable, according to Wang.
Friday's data also showed China's gold reserves came in at 113.1 billion dollars by the end of last month.