China sees stable growth in external debt in Q2

BEIJING - China's external debt continued to grow in the second quarter of 2018 with improved structure, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Friday.

The outstanding external debt totaled about $1.87 trillion at the end of June, up 1.5 percent from that at the end of March, said the SAFE in an online statement.

The growth was mainly attributed to an increase in holdings of China's domestic yuan-denominated bonds by overseas non-resident institutions, the SAFE said.

Short-term borrowing accounted for 64 percent of the outstanding external debt, while long- and medium-term borrowing accounted for the remaining 36 percent, the SAFE data showed.

The structure of external debt has improved. Demand for domestic yuan-denominated bonds from overseas institutional investors registered rapid growth as China opens its domestic bond market wider to the world, SAFE said.

By the end of June this year, overseas institutions held 7.28 percent of China's treasury bonds, up 2.31 percentage points since the beginning of the year, a record high.

The SAFE said amid the uncertainties in the global financial and economic market, China's economy remains resilient, which creates favorable conditions for cross-border capital flow to remain basically balanced. It pledged to continue efforts in preventing financial risks while better serving China's real economy.