State Administration of Foreign Exchange: As of the end of September 2025, China's full-caliber external debt balance was RMB 16828.7 billion

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on December 31, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released China's full-caliber external debt data for the end of September 2025. As of the end of September 2025, China's full-caliber external debt balance (including local and foreign currency) was RMB 16828.7 billion. Looking at the term structure, the balance of medium- to long-term external debt was 7151.1 billion yuan (equivalent to 1006.4 billion US dollars), accounting for 42%; the balance of short-term external debt was 967.76 billion yuan (equivalent to 1362 billion US dollars), accounting for 58%. Trade-related credit accounts for 36 per cent of short-term external debt balances.

The original text is as follows:

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange released China's full-caliber external debt data for the end of September 2025

As of the end of September 2025, China's full-caliber external debt balance (including local and foreign currency) was RMB 168,28.7 billion (equivalent to US$236.84 billion, excluding the external liabilities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, the Macau Special Administrative Region of China, and Taiwan, the same below).

Looking at the term structure, the balance of medium- to long-term external debt was 7151.1 billion yuan (equivalent to 1006.4 billion US dollars), accounting for 42%; the balance of short-term external debt was 967.76 billion yuan (equivalent to 1362 billion US dollars), accounting for 58%. Trade-related credit accounts for 36 per cent of short-term external debt balances.

Looking at the institutional sector, the general government's external debt balance was RMB 2856.3 billion (equivalent to US$402 billion), accounting for 17%; the central bank's external debt balance was RMB 745.4 billion (equivalent to US$104.9 billion), accounting for 4%; the bank's external debt balance was RMB 6919.8 billion (equivalent to US$973.9 billion), accounting for 41%; and the external debt balance of other departments (including loans between related companies) was RMB 630.72 billion (equivalent to US$887.6 billion), accounting for 38%.

In terms of debt instruments, the loan balance was RMB 2193.4 billion (equivalent to US$308.7 billion), accounting for 13%; the balance of trade credit and advance payments was RMB 2844.3 billion (equivalent to US$403 billion), accounting for 17%; the balance of currency and deposits was RMB 335.26 billion (equivalent to US$471.9 billion), accounting for 20%; the balance of debt securities was 5541.7 billion yuan (equivalent to US$779.9 billion), accounting for 33%; Special Drawing Rights (SDR) was allocated to 352.7 billion yuan (equivalent to US$49.6 billion), accounting for 2% of loans between related companies; The debt balance was RMB 1679.9 billion (equivalent to US$236.4 billion), accounting for 10%; the balance of other debt liabilities was RMB 864.1 billion (equivalent to US$121.6 billion), accounting for 5%.

Looking at the currency structure, the balance of foreign debt in local currency was RMB 8739.4 billion (equivalent to US$1229.9 billion), accounting for 52%; the balance of foreign currency external debt (including SDR allocations) was RMB 8089.3 billion (equivalent to US$1138.5 billion), accounting for 48%. Among foreign currency registered external debt balances, US dollar debt accounts for 78%, euro debt accounts for 9%, yen debt accounts for 4%, Hong Kong dollar debt accounts for 5%, and special drawing rights and other foreign currency external debt together account for 4%.

The main indicators of China's external debt are all within the internationally recognized safety line, and China's external debt risk is generally manageable.

This article was compiled from the official website of the “State Administration of Foreign Exchange”. Zhitong Finance Editor: Xu Wenqiang.