China's foreign debt stood well over US$443.2 billion at the end of March, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement on its website Friday.

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

The country's registered foreign debt was equivalent to US$276.44 billion and outstanding trade credits stood at US$166.8 billion, according to SAFE. It did not provide year-on-year growth figures.

Medium- and long-term external debt, accounting for 37.69 percent of all outstanding foreign debt, totaled US$167.03 billion.

Short-term external debt was US$276.2 billion, accounting for 62.31 percent of total debt.

The nation repaid US$5.63 billion in principal on medium- and long-term debt in the first three months of the year, down 15.3 percent year on year.

It paid US$694 million in interest on medium- and long-term debt in the period, down 13.79 percent year on year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2010)