China's outstanding foreign debt had hit $863.2 billion by the end of 2013, up 17 percent over the previous year, data from the country's forex regulator showed on March 31.
Of the total outstanding external debt, registered external debt reached $526.7 billion, while the balance of trade credit between businesses amounted to $336.5 billion.
Most of the debt owed to foreign creditors resulted from short-term borrowing, as outstanding external debt with a term of one year or less amounted to $676.6 billion, while long- and medium-term outstanding external debt came in at $186.5 billion.
In terms of currency structure, debt denominated in U.S. dollars accounted for 79.6 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, and that in euros and Japanese yen accounted for 5.54 percent and 5.02 percent, respectively.
Preliminary calculation showed China's foreign liability ratio of 9.4 percent, debt-to-GDP ratio of 35.59 percent, and debt-service ratio of 1.57 percent were all within the internationally recognized safety range. |