China's foreign debt logged slight increase in the first quarter, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Friday.
According to the latest figures, China's total outstanding foreign debt reached 2.4514 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of March, up 31.6 billion U.S. dollars, or 1.3 percent, from the end of 2024.
By currency structure, local-currency-denominated debt accounted for 52 percent, up 2 percentage points compared to the end of 2024.
In terms of maturity structure, medium- and long-term debt made up 42 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from the end of 2024.
A SAFE official said that China's economy remains on a stable growth trajectory, and its domestic financial market has demonstrated strong resilience and risk resistance, further enhancing the appeal of RMB-denominated assets.
The official added that China will continue to push for innovation-driven development, steadily expand high-level opening-up, and improve cross-border financing facilitation, which will support the overall stability of the country's foreign debt scale.
China's foreign debt posts moderate growth in Q1
China's foreign debt posts moderate growth in Q1
Tokyo stocks rose Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index ending at a fresh record high, buoyed by optimism over a settlement in the Middle East conflict.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,654.93 points, or 2.68 percent, from Thursday at 63,339.07.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 38.65 points, or 1.00 percent, higher at 3,892.46.
"There was some optimistic trade around the latest U.S.-Iran talks, but this optimism seems to be based on the fact that things aren't getting drastically worse in the region rather than the situation improving significantly," Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), recapped the day's developments.
"This optimism was most strongly on display, I think, in Tokyo today, where the Nikkei rose 2.7 percent with hopes for some relief on oil prices and other currently scarce materials. It's not just oil that is not getting out of the region. As we know, it's other petrochemicals and things like helium as well. The general performance was pretty strong. Metals producers were doing fairly well in Tokyo, but in Japan as well, the market is very much focused on AI stocks. And today, the gains were strong for SoftBank -- it was up almost 12 percent after a bit of a battering earlier in the week. And that SoftBank gain contributed nearly a third to the Nikkei's overall gains on Friday," said Pope.
Tokyo stocks end higher as U.S.-Iran talks fuel cautious optimism
