China's foreign exchange reserves are fast approaching the US$1 trillion mark, swollen by the country's surging trade surplus, the central bank reported Friday. China's foreign reserves, already the world's largest, reached US$987.9 billion (¤788 billion) by the end of September, up 28.5 percent from a year earlier, the People's Bank of China said in its quarterly report. The currency reserves have mounted steadily as Beijing buys dollars and other foreign currencies in an effort to control the value of its currency, the yuan, amid an export-driven influx of foreign money. The central bank said China added US$169 billion to its reserves in the first nine months of this year. Its reserves had climbed to US$941 billion by the end of June. If they continue to rise at the current rate, they are likely to exceed US$1 trillion (¤800 billion) within a month's time.
