At the end of March 2011, China's outstanding external debt (excluding that of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province) reached USD585.97 billion. Specifically, the outstanding registered external debt reached USD366.87 billion and the balance of trade credit totaled USD219.1 billion.

With respect to the term structure, the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD174.32 billion, accounting for 29.75 percent of the total outstanding external debt. The outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD411.65 billion, accounting for 70.25 percent of the outstanding external debt. Specifically, the outstanding registered short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD192.55 billion and the balance of trade credit was USD219.1 billion.

In terms of the composition of the short-term external debt, at the end of March 2011 the balance of trade-related credit was USD311.45 billion, accounting for 76 percent of the outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term). Specifically, the trade credit and trade financing accounted for 53 percent and 23 percent respectively. As the trade-related credit is based on the real import and export trade, all external payments are conducted under the item of trade and do not constitute additional payments. The growth of such payments is basically consistent with that of the import and export trade in China; therefore, the increase in the proportion of this short-term external debt will not affect the security of Chinas external debt.

In terms of types of debtors, the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded financial institutions was USD156.266 billion, accounting for 42.59 percent of the outstanding registered external debt; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded enterprises was USD114.929 billion, accounting for 31.33 percent; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded financial institutions was USD50.539 billion, accounting for 13.78 percent; the outstanding sovereign debt borrowed by ministries under the State Council was USD39.161 billion, accounting for 10.67 percent; the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded enterprises was USD5.844 billion, accounting for 1.59 percent; and the outstanding debt of other institutions was USD131 million, accounting for 0.04 percent.

In terms of the types of debts, the balance of international commercial loans amounted to USD299.023 billion, accounting for 81.51 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing an increase of 1.53 percentage points from that at the end of 2010. The balance of foreign government loans and loans granted by international financial organizations amounted to USD67.847 billion, accounting for 18.49 percent.
In terms of the currency structure, the debt in U.S. dollars accounted for 68.3 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing a decline of 2.11 percentage points compared with that at the end of 2010. Debt in Japanese yen accounted for 7.68 percent, representing a decline of 0.88 percentage point compared with that at the end of 2010. Debt in euro accounted for 4 percent, representing a decline of 0.41 percentage point compared with that at the end of 2010. Other kinds of debts, including SDRs and HKD, accounted for 20.02 percent, a rise of 3.4 percentage points compared with that at the end of 2010.

In terms of the sectoral distribution with reference to the Industrial Classifications of the National Economy, USD47.841 billion was invested in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 23.01 percent of the medium- and long-term outstanding registered external debt (based on contract terms); USD26.261 billion was invested in the communications and transportation sector, the warehousing sector, and the postal-services sector, accounting for 12.63 percent of the total; USD17.356 billion was invested in the production and supply of electricity, coal gas, and water, accounting for 8.35 percent; USD8.142 billion was invested in the information technology services sector, accounting for 3.92 percent; and USD10.594 billion was channeled to the real estate sector, accounting for 5.1 percent.

From January to March 2011, the medium- and long-term external debt totaled USD14.099 billion, a year-on-year increase of USD5.948, or 72.97 percent. The principal repayment was USD4.599 billion, a year-on-year decrease of USD1.035 billion, or 18.37 percent. The interest payment was USD460 million, a year-on-year decrease of USD234 million, or 33.71 percent.