A Chinese bank employee counts US currency notes at a bank in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province April 4, 2006. China's forex reserve reached US$1.0663 trillion at the end of 2006. [Reuters]

China's foreign exchange reserve reached US$1.0663 trillion at the end of 2006, announced the People's Bank of China on Monday, January 15, 2007.

The figure rose 30.22 percent over that at the end of 2005. And it was the first time that China's foreign exchange reserve was confirmed to exceed US$1 trillion, according to the central bank.

The bank's statistics show that the figure broke the one trillion U.S. dollar mark at the end of October 2006.

China reported a fresh increase of US$247.3 billion of foreign exchange reserve in 2006. The increment was US$38.4 billion more than the growth figure in 2005.

China became the world's largest foreign currency depositor in the first half of 2006. Figures from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange show that China's foreign exchange reserve stayed below US$1 billion before 1979.

The huge reserve reflects China's economic achievements since the country started economic reforms in the late 1970s, but observers worry that an excessive and fast-growing reserve of foreign exchange will endanger currency stability and liquidity.

The further rapid growth of the reserve will continue to fuel speculation on the appreciation of the Renminbi (RMB), said Tan Yaling, a research fellow with the China International Economic Relations Association, under the central bank.

Being the product of foreign trade revenue and foreign investment, China's huge reserve has been a target of international critics, who argue that the RMB should be revalued and that the undervalued yuan gives Chinese products a price advantage in international markets and hurts manufacturers from other countries.

The huge amount of foreign exchange reserve means China has economic power that can influence the world, said Zhao Xijun, a professor with the Renmin University of China.

Zhang Yansheng, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China should increase imports and improve the quality of foreign investment, while maintaining a reasonable growth of exports and use of foreign investment.