At the end of March 2010, China's outstanding external debt (excluding that of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan Province) reached USD443.236 billion, of which the outstanding registered external debt was USD276.436 billion and the balance of trade credit was USD166.8 billion.

With respect to the terms, the outstanding long- and medium-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD167.034 billion, accounting for 37.69 percent of the total outstanding external debt. The outstanding short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD276.202 billion, accounting for 62.31 percent of the total outstanding external debt. Specifically, the outstanding registered short-term external debt (with the remaining term) was USD109.402 billion and the balance of trade credit was USD166.8 billion.

In terms of the type of debtor, outstanding sovereign debt borrowed by ministries under the State Council was USD38.43 billion, accounting for 13.90 percent of the total outstanding registered external debt; outstanding debt of Chinese-funded financial institutions was USD98.655 billion, accounting for 35.69 percent; the outstanding debt of foreign-funded enterprises was USD94.015 billion, accounting for 34.01 percent; outstanding debt of foreign-funded financial institutions in China was USD40.882 billion, accounting for 14.79 percent; the outstanding debt of Chinese-funded enterprises was USD4.145 billion, accounting for 1.50 percent; and outstanding debt of other institutions was USD309 million, accounting for 0.11 percent.

With respect to the types of debt, the balance of international commercial loans amounted to USD208.129 billion, accounting for 75.29 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, with proportion rising by 0.87 percentage point compared with that at the end of 2009. The balance of foreign government loans and loans granted by international financial organizations amounted to USD68.307 billion, accounting for 24.71 percent of the outstanding registered external debt.

In terms of the currency structure, the debt in U.S. dollars accounted for 70 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing an increase of 2.24 percentage points compared with that at the end of 2009. The debt in Japanese yen accounted for 11.04 percent, representing a decline of 0.85 percentage point compared with that at the end of 2009. The debt in euro accounted for 5.49 percent, representing a decline by 0.89 percentage point compared with that at the end of 2009; other kinds of debt including SDRs and HKD accounts accounted for 13.47 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, a decline of 0.5 percentage point compared with the end of 2009.

In terms of the sectoral distribution with reference to the Industrial Classifications of the National Economy, USD40.145 billion was invested in the manufacturing sector, accounting for 21.45 percent of the medium- and long-term outstanding registered external debt (based on contract terms); USD24.427 billion was invested in the transportation, warehousing, and postal services sectors, accounting for 13.05 percent; USD16.024 billion was invested in the production and supply of electricity, coal, gas, and water, accounting for 8.56 percent; USD11.911 billion was invested in the information technology services sector, accounting for 6.37 percent; USD11.606 billion was invested in the real estate sector, accounting for 6.20 percent of the medium- and long-term outstanding registered external debt.