As at end of June 2019, China recorded RMB 13.7357 trillion in outstanding external debt denominated in both domestic and foreign currencies (equivalent to USD 1.998 trillion, excluding those of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province, the same below).
With respect to the term structure, the outstanding medium-and long-term external debt was RMB 5.3873 trillion (USD 783.6 billion), accounting for 39%; while the outstanding short-term external debt hit RMB 8.3484 trillion (USD 1.2144 trillion), taking up 61%, including 42% trade-related credit.
In terms of institutions and sectors, the outstanding debt of government totaled RMB 1.649 trillion (USD 239.8 billion), accounting for 12%; the outstanding debt of the central bank totaled RMB 228 billion (USD 33.2 billion), accounting for 2%; the outstanding debt of banks totaled RMB 6.4175 trillion (USD 933.5 billion), taking up 47%; the outstanding debt of other sectors totaled RMB 3.9438 trillion (USD 573.7 billion), taking up 28%; the outstanding debt of inter-company lending under direct investments totaled RMB 1.4974 trillion (USD 217.8 billion), taking up 11%.
In terms of debt instruments, the outstanding of loans was RMB 3.246 trillion (USD 472.2 billion), accounting for 23.5%; the outstanding of trade credit and prepayment was RMB 2.3807 trillion (USD 346.3 billion), accounting for 17%; the outstanding of currency and deposits was RMB 3.03 trillion (USD 440.7 billion), accounting for 22%; the outstanding of debt securities was RMB 3.2658 trillion (USD 475.1 billion), accounting for 24%; the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation amounted to RMB 66.8 billion (USD 9.7 billion), accounting for 0.5%. The outstanding debt of inter-company lending under direct investments totaled RMB 1.4974 trillion (USD 217.8 billion), accounting for 11%; and the outstanding of other debt liabilities was RMB 249 billion (USD 36.2 billion), making up 2%.
With respect to currency structures, the outstanding external debt in domestic currency totaled RMB 4.6620 trillion (USD 678.1 billion), accounting for 34%; the outstanding external debt in foreign currencies (including SDR allocation) totaled RMB 9.0737 trillion (USD 1.3199 trillion), accounting for 66%. In the total outstanding registered external debt in foreign currencies, the USD debt accounted for 83%, the Euro debt accounted for 8%, the HKD debt accounted for 5%, the JPY debt accounted for 2%, the SDR and other foreign currency-denominated external debt accounted for 2%. China’s major external debt metrics were all within the internationally recognized thresholds, indicating that the external debt risk is controllable on the whole.
 
Appendix

Definition of terms and interpretations

External debt classification by term structure. There are two methods to classify the external debt by term structure. One is on the basis of the contract term, i.e. it is classified as medium- and long-term external debt if the contract term is over one year, and classified as short-term external debt if the contract term is one year or less; the other is on the basis of the remaining term, i.e., on the basis of the contract term classification method above, the medium- and long-term external debt due within one year is classified as short-term external debt. In this news release, external debt is divided into medium- and long-term external debt and short-term external debt based on the contract term.
Trade-related credit is a broad concept. In addition to trade credit and prepayment, it also involves other kinds of credit provided for trade activities. As it is defined, trade-related credit includes trade credit and prepayment, bank trade financing, short-term notes related to trade, and so forth. In particular, trade credit and prepayment refer to external liability arising from directly extending credit between the seller and buyer of goods transactions, specifically transactions between residents in the Chinese Mainland and overseas non-residents (including non-residents in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province), i.e., the debt incurred due to the difference between the time of payment and the time of the goods ownership transfer, which include credit directly provided by the supplier (e.g., the overseas exporter) for goods and services, and advance payments made by buyers (e.g., overseas importers) for goods, services, and on-going business (or business to be undertaken). Bank trade financing refers to trade related loans that offered by a third party (e.g., banks) to exporters or importers, for instance, loans extended by foreign financial institutions or export credit agencies to buyers.