At the end of June this year, China's outstanding foreign debt exceeded US$170.41 billion, People's Bank of China announced in Beijing on Thursday. China's foreign debt increased somewhat under new international standards, but all safety indices are still within the safety line drawn by those standards, according to a spokesman for China's central bank.

According to the Thursday's announcement by People's Bank of China, that at the end of June this year, China's outstanding foreign debt stood at 170.41 billion US$. The statistics excludes the amounts owed by Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan Province.

Figures and Statistics

Of the total debt, medium and long-term debt accounted for US$112.88 billion while short-term debt came to US$57.53 billion.

Sovereign debt borrowed by ministries under the State Council was US$49.69 billion; while that borrowed by Chinese financial institutions was US$33.76 billion. Foreign-funded enterprises borrowed US$34.7 billion; domestic enterprises borrowed US$11.6 billion, and leasing companies and other institutions, US$760 million.

In addition, the debt owed by foreign financial institutions in China was US$16.12 billion; the offshore deposits absorbed by Chinese financial institutions, US$510 million; and the outstanding trade credit, US$23.9 billion.

Safety Line Maintained

A spokesman for the central bank told the journalist that all safety indices are still within the safety line drawn by international standards although China's foreign debt increased somewhat under the new international standards.

Disparity to Be Eliminated

According to the spokesman, China began to publish foreign debt data in accordance with international standards in a bid to eliminate the disparity between China's original statistical standards and the international standards that are newly formulated during the past a few years.

(People's Daily November 9, 2001)