China's foreign exchange reserves reached 154.675 billion US dollars by December 31, up 9. 716 billion US dollars over the same date in 1998, according to official sources.

The sources said the exchange rate of the Chinese currency, Renminbi, remained stable in the past year.

By December 30, the exchange rate of the Chinese currency was 8.2795 yuan against the US dollar.

The increase of China's foreign exchange reserves is because China's international payment is stable and healthy.

Experts attributed the growth in the reserves to the measures taken by the Chinese Government to encourage exports and crack down on smuggling, and the recovery of Asian economies which was hit hard by the Asian economic crisis.

In order to encourage export, China increased export rebates and shortened the time needed to pay rebates to exporters.

China's exports stopped dropping in the second half of 1999, and its surplus in foreign trade totaled 26.4 billion US dollars in the first 11 months of 1999, with direct foreign investment reaching 37.09 billion US dollars.