At the end of September, China's foreign exchange reserves surged to a record $2.648 trillion, the central bank said on Oct. 13.
The reserves, already the world's largest, expanded by 16.5% from a year ago, the People's Bank of China said.
The central bank had said previously its reserves stood at $2.454 trillion at the end of June.
China's forex reserves have ballooned in recent years, fuelled by strong foreign investment, large trade surpluses and inflows of "hot money" -- short-term speculative funds in search of quick profits.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
