Foreign debt increasing

China's foreign debt totaled US$202.3 billion at the end of March 2004, a 4.49% increase on the previous year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced. A SAFE report said that the increase was due to continuing economic and foreign trade growth. China borrowed US$24.4 billion from overseas lenders during the first three months of 2004. Of the total foreign debt, US$120 billion was long-term debt.