China's outstanding external debt reached 428.6 billion U.S.dollars by the end of 2009, up 14.4 percent from a year earlier, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said here in a statement on its website Tuesday.



The figure excluded Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Macao SAR, and Taiwan.



The country's registered foreign debt was equivalent to 266.95 billion U.S. dollars by the end of last year, up 2.5 percent from the 2008 level. Outstanding trade credits stood at 161.7 billion U.S.dollars, according to SAFE.



China's foreign debt service ratio was 2.87 percent, while the foreign debt ratio and liability ratio stood at 32.15 percent and 8.73 percent, respectively, SAFE said.



Mid- and long-term external debt, accounting for 39.52 percent of all outstanding foreign debt, totaled 169.39 billion U.S.dollars by 2009, most of which came from manufacturing and infrastructure construction in transportation, storage and postal services, it said.



Short-term external debt rose 23 percent to 259.26 billion U.S.dollars year on year by the end of 2009, accounting for 60.48 percent of the total.



New mid- and long-term debt in 2009 declined 38.18 percent to 22.45 billion U.S.dollars from a year earlier.



China repaid principals for mid- and long-term loans of 34.19 billion U.S. dollars and 3.63 billion U.S. dollars in interest in 2009, up 46.78 percent and down 12.64 percent year on year, respectively, said SAFE.