China's foreign exchange reserves topped US$2.13 trillion by the end of June, up 17.84 percent year on year, the People's Bank of China said on Wednesday.

About US$185.6 billion were added to the world's largest official foreign exchange reserves in the first half of the year, but that figure is about US$95 billion less than the same period a year ago, said the central bank.

The stockpile was increased by US$42.1 billion in June, US$30.2 billion more than the same time a year earlier.

Chinese exports plummeted 21.8 percent through the January-June period in the sharpest decrease in a decade after the global financial crisis sapped demand for Chinese goods.

Declining exports drove down the trade surplus to US$96.94 billion in the first half, down 1.3 percent year on year.

A decline of the greenback also helped depress the reserves value as a big share of the holdings were US treasury bills.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2009)