At the end of September 2011, China’s outstanding external debt (excluding that of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province) reached USD697.164 billion. Specifically, the outstanding registered external debt was USD440.564 billion and the balance of trade credit between enterprises was USD256.6 billion.

With respect to the term structure, the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD189.539 billion, accounting for 27.19 percent of the outstanding external debt. The outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD507.625 billion, accounting for 72.81 percent of the outstanding external debt. Specifically, the outstanding registered short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD251.025 billion and the balance of trade credit between enterprises was USD256.6 billion.

In terms of the composition of the short-term external debt, at the end of September 2011 the balance of trade-related credit was USD374.996 billion, accounting for 73.87 percent of the outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term). Specifically, the trade credit between enterprises and bank trade financing accounted for 50.55 percent and 23.32 percent respectively. As trade-related credit is mainly based on real import and export trade, the growth of such payments is basically consistent with that of import and export trade in China; therefore, the increase in the proportion of this short-term external debt will not affect the security of China’s external debt.

In terms of types of debtors, the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded financial institutions was USD209.605 billion, accounting for 47.58 percent of the outstanding registered external debt; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded enterprises was USD132.027 billion, accounting for 29.97 percent; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded financial institutions was USD54.373 billion, accounting for 12.34 percent; the outstanding sovereign debt borrowed by ministries under the State Council was USD38.597 billion, accounting for 8.76 percent; the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded enterprises was USD5.797 billion, accounting for 1.31 percent; and the outstanding debt of other institutions was USD 165 million, accounting for 0.04 percent.

In terms of types of debt, the balance of international commercial loans amounted to USD370.998 billion, accounting for 84.21 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, with the proportion rising by 4.23 percentage points compared with  the end of 2010. The balance of foreign government loans and of loans granted by international financial organizations amounted to USD69.566 billion, accounting for 15.79 percent.

In terms of the currency structure, debt in U.S. dollars accounted for 75.81 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. Debt in Japanese yen accounted for 8.11 percent, representing a decline of 0.45 percentage point compared with the end of 2010. Debt in euro accounted for 7.21 percent, representing a rise of 2.8 percentage points compared with the end of 2010. Other kinds of debt, including SDRs and HKD, accounted for 8.87 percent, a decline of 7.75 percentage points compared with the end of 2010.

In terms of the sectors in which the debt is invested, based on the Industrial Classifications of the National Economy, USD53.482 billion was invested in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 24.24 percent of the medium- and long-term outstanding registered external debt (based on contract terms); USD27.677 billion was invested in the transportation sector, the warehousing sector, and the postal-services sector, accounting for 12.54 percent; USD17.354 billion was invested in the production and supply of electric power, coal, gas, and water, accounting for 7.87 percent; USD8.152 billion was invested in the information technology services sector, accounting for 3.69 percent; and USD10.69 billion was invested in the real estate sector, accounting for 4.85 percent.

From January to September 2011, medium- and long-term external borrowing totaled USD33.948 billion, an increase of USD6.101 billion, or 21.91 percent, on a year-on-year basis; Repayment of the principal totaled USD20.961 billion, an increase of USD3.057 billion, or 17.07, percent, on a year-on-year basis; Interest payments totaled USD1.779 billion, a year-on-year decrease of USD252 million, or 12.41 percent. Net inflows under the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt totaled USD11.208 billion, up 41.66 percent on a year-on-year basis.