BEIJING - CHINA'S foreign debt increased by more than 18 per cent in the first nine months of the year, with short-term debt rising especially fast, state media reported on Saturday.

At the end of September, overseas borrowing stood at US$442 billion (S$640 billion), a rise of 18.3 per cent from the end of last year, the Xinhua news agency said, quoting the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

It did not offer an explanation for the rise.

Short-term debt - defined as loans with maturities of less than one year - had risen particularly fast, increasing by 27.2 per cent over the nine-month period to US$280 billion, according to Xinhua.

Medium- to long-term debt was up by a more moderate 5.5 per cent to US$162 billion, according to Xinhua.

Despite the growth in overseas borrowing, the world's fourth-largest economy remains in a position to service its debt, as it also holds the world's largest foreign exchange reserves.

Fuelled by its large trade surplus, China's forex reserves reached US$1.9 trillion in late September, according to the latest figures available. -- AFP