(Yicai Global) Jan. 21 -- Chinese  residents completed less cross-border transactions last year as they  splurged increasingly on domestic products. The country's current  account balance also rebounded from a rare dip back to surplus. 

Purchases in foreign currencies fell 7  percent, which is conductive to the stability between supply and demand  in the foreign exchange market, Wang Chunying, a spokesperson of the  State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in a statement on Jan.  18. 

Chinese residents' cross-border  consumption will be more rational with the improvement of factors such  as domestic products' quality, ecological environment, education level,  as well as soft power, Wang said.

China will balance international payments  in future, and keep its current account balance at a reasonable level,  according to Wang. In the first quarter of 2018, the nation logged the  first deficit in its gauge of goods and capital flowing out of the  country in 20 years. The balance got back in the black in the second  quarter and tripled from there to reach USD23.3 billion in the third  quarter.

The proportion of foreign investors in  the domestic capital market is still relatively small, Wang said, adding  that capital inflows targeting medium and long-term investment have  room for improvement.

The net inflow of foreign direct  investment made up 36 percent of all the types of overseas capital  inflows, up 9 percentage points annually, data from the first three  quarters of 2018 show. Foreign investors placed their bets on Chinese  debt securities, as 37 percent of capital, up 11 percent, was invested  in bonds.

China  will become an important destination for international investors to  diversify their portfolios, which will bring more value to the Chinese  markets, Wang projected.

Editor: Emmi Laine