April 19, 2007 - At the end of 2006, China 's outstanding external debt reached USD 322.988 billion (excluding that of the Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province , the same below), an increase of USD 41.943 billion or 14.92% compared with that at the end of 2005. Specifically, the outstanding long- and medium-term debt (with the remaining term) stood at USD 139.360 billion, an increase of USD 14.458 billion or 11.58% compared with that at the end of 2005. The outstanding short-term debt (with the remaining term) was USD 183.628 billion, an increase of USD 27.485 billion or 17.60% compared with that at the end of 2005. The short-term debt accounted for 56.85% of the total.

Among the USD 322.988 billion external debt, the outstanding registered external debt was USD 218.988 billion and the balance of trade credit was USD 104 billion. Among the outstanding registered external debt, the amount borrowed by ministries and commissions directly under the State Council was USD 34.354 billion, accounting for 15.69%; that of domestic-funded financial institutions was USD 70.363 billion, accounting for 32.13%; that of foreign-funded enterprises was USD 60.842 billion, accounting for 27.78%; that of foreign-funded financial institutions in China was USD 49.634 billion, accounting for 22.67%; that of Chinese-funded enterprises was USD 3.521 billion, accounting for 1.61%; and that of other institutions was USD 274 million, accounting for 0.12%.

The amount of registered long- and medium-term external borrowing in 2006 was USD 26.033 billion, an increase of USD 1.364 billion or 5.53% over the previous year. The principal repayment was USD 17.899 billion, a decrease of USD 2.852 billion or 13.74% over the previous year. The interest payment under the long- and medium-term debt was USD 3.105 billion, an increase of USD 23 million or 0.75% compared with the previous year. 

Initial calculations reveal that our debt service ratio in 2006 was 2.09%, the ratio of outstanding external debts to foreign exchange income was 30.42%, the ratio of outstanding external debts to GDP was 12.30%, and the ratio of short-term external debts to foreign exchange reserves was 17.22%. All of these indexes are within the safety limits of international standards.