As at end of September 2019, China recorded RMB 14.3756 trillion in outstanding external debt denominated in both domestic and foreign currencies (equivalent to USD 2.0325 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 5.849 trillion (USD 827billion), accounting for 41%; while the outstanding short-term external debt hit RMB 8.5266 trillion (USD 1.2055 trillion), taking up 59%, including 43% trade-related credit.
In terms of institutions and sectors, the outstanding debt of government totaled RMB 1.7289 trillion (USD 244.5 billion), accounting for 12%; the outstanding debt of the central bank totaled RMB 257.8 billion (USD 36.5 billion), accounting for 2%; the outstanding debt of banks totaled RMB 6.6113 trillion (USD 934.7 billion), taking up 46%; the outstanding debt of other sectors totaled RMB 4.147 trillion (USD 586.3 billion), taking up 29%; the outstanding debt of inter-company lending under direct investments totaled RMB 1.6306 trillion (USD 230.5 billion), taking up 11%.
In terms of debt instruments, the outstanding of loans was RMB 3.2575 trillion (USD 460.6 billion), accounting for 22.5%; the outstanding of trade credit and prepayment was RMB 2.5512 trillion (USD 360.7 billion), accounting for 17.5%; the outstanding of currency and deposits was RMB 3.0896 trillion (USD 436.8 billion), accounting for 21.5%; the outstanding of debt securities was RMB 3.5341 trillion (USD 499.7 billion), accounting for 25%; the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation amounted to RMB 67.4 billion (USD 9.5 billion), accounting for 0.5%. The outstanding debt of inter-company lending under direct investments totaled RMB 1.6306 trillion (USD 230.5 billion), accounting for 11%; and the outstanding of other debt liabilities was RMB 245.2 billion (USD 34.7 billion), making up 2%.
With respect to currency structures, the outstanding external debt in domestic currency totaled RMB 4.8287 trillion (USD 682.7 billion), accounting for 34%; the outstanding external debt in foreign currencies (including SDR allocation) totaled RMB 9.5469 trillion (USD 1.3498 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.