BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign exchange market operated steadily in April, with cross-border capital flows returning to net inflows, official data showed Monday.

Foreign exchange settlements by banks totaled 257.3 billion U.S. dollars last month, while sales came in at 217.2 billion dollars, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

In the first four months, foreign exchange settlements by banks totaled 1.0237 trillion dollars, while sales reached 844.9 billion dollars, the administration said.

Li Bin, deputy head and spokesperson of the administration, said China's foreign exchange market has remained generally stable despite volatility in international financial markets caused by geopolitical situations.

Foreign-related transactions remained active. In April, cross-border receipts and payments by enterprises, individuals and other non-banking sectors totaled 1.6 trillion dollars, up 15 percent year on year, while foreign exchange market turnover reached 3.7 trillion dollars, staying at a relatively high level, Li said.

Companies have also become more capable of managing exchange rate risks and more rational in foreign exchange transactions, Li said.

In April, companies' willingness to settle foreign exchange was stable with a slight decline, and the settlement ratio of foreign exchange earnings edged down from the previous month, indicating that market expectations remained basically stable, Li said. ■