South Korea posted a current account deficit with China for the first time in 21 years while logging a record surplus with the U.S. in 2022.

According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the country's current account balance ran a surplus of roughly 29-point-eight billion U.S. dollars last year, down sharply from the surplus of some 85 billion dollars in 2021.

The nation posted a current account deficit of nearly seven-point-eight billion dollars with China last year after logging a surplus of more than 23 billion dollars in 2021, the first negative balance since 2001.

The bank cited a deficit of more than ten billion dollars with China in the balance of services alone.

However, the current account surplus with the U.S. surged nearly 49 percent to roughly 68 billion dollars, the highest figure to be posted since 1998 when related statistics began to be compiled.

The bank noted that the record sum resulted after the balance of goods posted a record surplus thanks to brisk exports of automobiles, while a reduced deficit in the balance of services brought on by an increase in shipping services also contributed to the record surplus with the U.S.