China's foreign debt totaled 697.16 billion U.S. dollars at the end of September, up from 548.9 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2010, the country's foreign-exchange regulator said Tuesday.

Short-term debt hit 507.63 billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to 72.81 percent of the country's total foreign debt, while mid- and long-term debt amounted to 189.54 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 27.19 percent of the total debt, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement on its website.

Trade-related credit outstanding totaled 375 billion U.S. dollars at the end of September, equivalent to 73.87 percent of the country's total short-term debt.

The increase in trade-related credit outstanding was in line with China's growing foreign trade volume. Therefore, its rising scale will not affect the country's external debt security, the statement said.

Of China's outstanding registered foreign debt, 75.81 percent was denominated in U.S. dollars, up 5.4 percentage points from the end of last year.

Japanese yen accounted for 8.11 percent, down 0.45 percentage point from the end of 2010, while debt denominated in euros accounted for 7.21 percent, up 2.8 percentage points, the statement said.

The country borrowed 33.95 billion U.S. dollars in mid- and long-term debt during the first nine months of 2011, a rise of 21.91 percent year-on-year, the statement said.

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