BEIJING - China's outstanding external debt (excluding that of Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan province) reached $546.449 billion, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Wednesday.

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Of the total outstanding external debt, the outstanding registered external debt was $326.549 billion and the balance of trade credit was $219.9 billion, the SAFE said.

In terms of the types of debt, the balance of international commercial loans amounted to $254.591 billion, accounting for 77.96 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, with the proportion rising 3.54 percentage points compared with that at the end of 2009.

The balance of foreign government loans and loans granted by international financial organizations amounted to $71.958 billion, accounting for 22.04 percent of the outstanding registered external debt.

With respect to the currency structure, the debt in US dollars accounted for 71.91 percent of the outstanding registered external debt, representing an increase of 4.15 percentage points compared with that at the end of 2009.

The debt in Japanese yen accounted for 10.29 percent, representing a decline of 1.6 percentage points. The debt in euro accounted for 4.32 percent, representing a decline by 2.06 percentage point.