China's outstanding external debt rose by $34 billion the second quarter to reach $785.17 billion by the end of June this year, the country's foreign exchange regulator said Monday.
The amount excludes outstanding external debt of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement on its website.
Of the total outstanding external debt, registered external debt reached $495.07 billion while the balance of trade credit between enterprises amounted to $290.1 billion, it said.
Most of the debt owed to foreign creditors resulted from short-term borrowing, as outstanding external debt with a term of one year or less amounted to $588.22 billion or 75% of the total, up from 74.2% at the end of March, according to SAFE.
Long- and medium-term external debt outstanding amounted to $196.95 billion.
China¿s debt is rising in the back of drop of slowing down of its economy and its plans to implement over $150 billion stimulus to undertake various infrastructure projects.
A recent report said China's corporate debt ratio, currently world's highest has reached "dangerous levels".
Experts have warned that any stimulus measures to boost domestic demand to compensate falling exports could add heavy strain on corporate firms.
China's corporate debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 107% in 2011, the highest in the world, Li Yang, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top government think tank said.
Data from the China Banking Regulatory Commission show China's banking system had 55 trillion yuan ($8.63 trillion) in outstanding loans by the end of 2011, according to a recent write up in state run China Daily.