Over the past decades, China has emerged as a global economic powerhouse. In 2020, China was the second-largest economy after the United States, with a nominal GDP of $14.7 trillion. The state of China’s economy, including that of China’s balance of payments, has generated much discussion and debate among economists, policy makers, and market participants.

Analyze the data on China’s balance of payments from 1982 through 2020, including the trends in the subaccounts, and write a report on the subject. In the report, you may:

1. Document the trend in China’s key economic indicators, such as the economic growth rate, the share of consumption in output, and exchange rate from 1982 to 2020.

2. Analyze the trends in China’s current account and its categories and investigate their causes. For example, how have the balances on goods and services trade changed over time, respectively?

3. Analyze the trends in China’s financial account and its categories and investigate their causes.

4. Examine the trend in China’s reserve holdings and discuss the likelihood of China’s twin surplus returning in the future. A twin surplus occurs when a country maintains surpluses on both current and financial accounts.