Positive signs had emerged from China’s economy in recent months. Citing cooling capital outflows and improving trade, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and various senior economic officials talked up the signals at the annual China Development Forum, a gathering in Beijing attended by foreign officials and top economists, including International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde. Zhang also told the forum that China was still alert to systemic risks in the financial and property markets. Zhou said capital outflows from China had eased because the market had become more “rational” about China’s economy and the yuan’s exchange rate after the jitters of previous months. Capital outflows are slowing significantly, Zhou said. China’s foreign exchange reserves fell USD28.5 billion in February to USD3.2 trillion. The drop narrowed sharply from the declines of around USD100 billion in December and January when the panic peaked about China’s slowing growth, the yuan’s depreciation and last year’s stock market rout. Zhang said economic indicators such as power consumption, employment and investment had improved since the start of the year until early this month. Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said there were similar positive signs in foreign trade. After double-digit drops in exports and imports in the first two months, trade was expected to rebound strongly this month, the South China Morning Post reports.