China's external debt rises in 2021

China's outstanding foreign debt stood at about 2.75 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2021, data from the country's forex regulator shows.

The balance was 50.1 billion dollars higher than it was at the end of September 2021, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

"The rise in external debt mainly resulted from foreign investors increasing their holdings of yuan-denominated bonds," said Wang Chunying, deputy head of the administration.

China's economic growth and opening-up efforts contributed to the rise, Wang said, and the country's foreign debt risk is generally controllable.

The proportion of medium and long-term debt was 47 percent at the end of 2021, flat with the level recorded at the end of September, Wang said.

Major indicators of the country's foreign debt, such as liability ratio, debt ratio and debt servicing ratio, are within internationally recognized thresholds, Wang said.