As at the end of June 2026, China recorded RMB 17.0148 trillion in outstanding external debt denominated in both domestic and foreign currencies (equivalent to USD 2498.2 billion, excluding those of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province of China, the same below).
In terms of maturity structure, the outstanding medium- and long-term external debt was RMB 7012.4 billion (equivalent to USD 1029.6 billion), accounting for 41 percent; while the outstanding short-term external debt was RMB 10002.4 billion (equivalent to USD 1468.6 billion), taking up 59 percent, of which 41 percent was trade-related credit.
In terms of institutional sectors, the outstanding debt of general government totaled RMB 2593.7 billion (equivalent to USD 380.8 billion), accounting for 15 percent; the outstanding debt of the central bank totaled RMB 730.9 billion (equivalent to USD 107.3 billion), accounting for 4 percent; the outstanding debt of banks totaled RMB 6793.1 billion (equivalent to USD 997.4 billion), accounting for 40 percent;the outstanding debt of other sectors(including inter-company lending under direct investments) totaled RMB 6897.1 billion (equivalent to USD 1012.7 billion), accounting for 41 percent.
In terms of debt instruments, the balance of loans was RMB 2361.1 billion (equivalent to USD 346.7 billion), accounting for 14 percent; the outstanding trade credits and advances was RMB 3269.9 billion (equivalent to USD 480.1 billion), accounting for 19 percent; the outstanding currency and deposits was RMB 3604.7 billion (equivalent to USD 529.2 billion), accounting for 21 percent; the outstanding debt securities was RMB 4556.3 billion (equivalent to USD 669.0 billion), accounting for 27 percent; the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation amounted to RMB 334.4 billion(equivalent to USD 49.1 billion), accounting for 2 percent; the balance of inter-company lending under direct investments totaled RMB 1967.0 billion(equivalent to USD 288.8 billion), accounting for 12 percent; and the balance of other debt liabilities was RMB 921.4 billion (equivalent to USD 135.3 billion),accounting for 5 percent.
With respect to currency structures, the outstanding external debt in domestic currency totaled RMB 9560.9 billion (equivalent to USD 1403.8 billion), accounting for 56 percent; the outstanding external debt in foreign currencies (including SDR allocation) totaled RMB 7453.9 billion (equivalent to USD 1094.4 billion), accounting for 44 percent. In the outstanding registered external debt in foreign currencies, the USD debt accounted for 76 percent, the Euro debt accounted for 9 percent, the HKD debt accounted for 6 percent, the JPY debt accounted for 4 percent, the SDR and other foreign currency-denominated external debt accounted for 5 percent.
Appendix
Definition of terms and interpretations
External debt classification by maturity structure. There are two methods to classify the external debt by maturity structure. One is on the basis of the contractual maturity, i.e. it is classified as medium- and long-term external debt if the contractual maturity is over one year, and classified as short-term external debt if the contractual maturity is one year or less; the other is on the basis of the remaining maturity, i.e., on the basis of the contractual maturity 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 contractual maturity.
Trade-related credit is a broad concept. In addition to trade credit and advances, it also involves other kinds of credit provided for trade activities. According to its definition, trade-related credit includes trade credit and advances, bank trade financing, trade related bills, and so forth. In particular, trade credit and advances 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 of China), 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 prepayments made by buyers (e.g., overseas importers) for goods, services, and work that is in progress (or work 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.
