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SAFE News
  • Index number:
    000014453-2023-0120
  • Dispatch date:
    2023-12-29
  • Publish organization:
    State Administration of Foreign Exchange
  • Exchange Reference number:
  • Name:
    SAFE Releases China's External Debt Data at the end of September 2023
SAFE Releases China's External Debt Data at the end of September 2023


As at the end of September 2023, China recorded RMB 17.104 trillion in outstanding external debt denominated in both domestic and foreign currencies (equivalent to USD 2382.9 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 7549.8 billion (equivalent to USD 1051.8 billion), accounting for 44 percent; while the outstanding short-term external debt was RMB 9554.2 billion (equivalent to USD 1331.1 billion), taking up 56 percent, of which 36 percent was trade-related credit.

In terms of institutional sectors, the outstanding debt of general government totaled RMB 2811.2 billion (equivalent to USD 391.7 billion), accounting for 16 percent; the outstanding debt of the central bank totaled RMB 789.7 billion (equivalent to USD 110 billion), accounting for 5 percent; the outstanding debt of banks totaled RMB 7116.7 billion (equivalent to USD 991.5 billion), accounting for 42 percent; the outstanding debt of other sectors (including inter-company lending under direct investments) totaled RMB 6386.4 billion (equivalent to USD 889.7 billion), accounting for 37 percent.

In terms of debt instruments, the balance of loans was RMB 2761.2 billion (equivalent to USD 384.7 billion), accounting for 16 percent; the outstanding trade credit and prepayment was RMB 2725.5 billion (equivalent to USD 379.7 billion), accounting for 16 percent; the outstanding currency and deposits was RMB 3647.4 billion (equivalent to USD 508.1 billion), accounting for 22 percent; the outstanding debt securities was RMB 4799.1 billion (equivalent to USD 668.6 billion), accounting for 28 percent; the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation amounted to RMB 341.7 billion (equivalent to USD 47.6 billion), accounting for 2 percent; the balance of inter-company lending under direct investments totaled RMB 2104.2 billion (equivalent to USD 293.2 billion), accounting for 12 percent; and the balance of other debt liabilities was RMB 724.9 billion (equivalent to USD 101 billion), accounting for 4 percent.

With respect to currency structures, the outstanding external debt in domesticcurrency totaled RMB 7696.9 billion (equivalent to USD 1072.3 billion), accounting for 45 percent; the outstanding external debt in foreign currencies (including SDR allocation) totaled RMB 9407.1 billion (equivalent to USD 1310.6 billion), accounting for 55 percent. In the outstanding registered external debt in foreign currencies, the USD debt accounted for 84 percent, the Euro debt accounted for 7 percent, the HKD debt accounted for 4percent, the JPY debt accounted for 2 percent, the SDR and other foreign currency-denominated external debt accounted for 3 percent.

Since all major external debt indicators were within the internationally recognized thresholds, Chinas external debt risk is under control.



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.



       Annexed tableChina’s Gross  External Debt Position by Sector,

End of September 2023


End of September  2023

End of September  2023

Unit:100  million RMB

Unit:100 million US dollars

General Government

28113

3917

   Short-term

1484

207 

     Currency and deposits

0

0

    Debt  securities

1484

207

     Loans

0

0

     Trade credit and advances

0

0

     Other debt liabilities

0

0

   Long-term

26628

3710

Special drawing rights (allocations)

0

0

     Currency and deposits

0

0

    Debt  securities

22735

3167

     Loans

3894

542

     Trade credit and advances

0

0

     Other debt liabilities

0

0

Central Bank

7897

1100

Short-term

2606

363

     Currency and deposits

1606

224

    Debt  securities

1000

139

     Loans

0

0

     Trade credit and advances

0

0

Other debt liabilities

0

0

   Long-term

5291

737

     Special drawing rights (allocations)

3417

476

     Currency and deposits

0

0

    Debt  securities

0

0

     Loans

0

0

     Trade credit and advances

0

0

     Other debt liabilities

1873

261

Other Depository Corporations

71167

9915

Short-term

56149

7822

     Currency and deposits

34855

4856

    Debt  securities

5029

701

     Loans

15802

2201

     Trade credit and advances

0

0

     Other debt liabilities

463

65

   Long-term

15018

2092

     Currency and deposits

0

0

    Debt  securities

11563

1611

     Loans

3367

469

     Trade credit and advances

0

0

     Other debt liabilities

88

12

Other Sectors

42822

5966

   Short-term

30362

4230

     Currency and deposits

13

2

    Debt  securities

115

16

     Loans

1397

195

     Trade credit and advances

26778

3731

     Other debt liabilities

2059

287

Long-term

12460

1736

     Currency and deposits

0

0

    Debt  securities

6066

845

     Loans

3153

439

     Trade credit and advances

477

66

     Other debt liabilities

2764

385

Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending

21042

2932

    Debt  liabilities of direct investment enterprises to direct investors

11661

1625

    Debt  liabilities of direct investors to direct investment enterprises

1236

172

    Debt  liabilities to fellow enterprises

8146

1135

Gross External Debt Position

171040

23829

Notes:

1. The short-term and  long-term herein are broken down by contractual (original) maturity.

2. The data in this table  have been rounded off.

The English translation may only be used as a reference. In case a different interpretation of the translated information contained in this website arises, the original Chinese shall prevail.

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