China's foreign debts rose a year-on-year 13 percent by the end of 2003, but the country's foreign exchange regulator Thursday said that it is still controllable.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) posted China's foreign debts as having mounted to an equivalent of US$193.63 billion at the end of last year, excluding those owed by the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions.

Short-term debts -- which should be paid off within one year --rose US$21.25 billion to US$77.04 billion last year, while long-term debts increase about US$1 billion with a total of US$116.59 billion.

The statement said the debts were manageable despite of the growing short-term dets, which is more vulnerable to sudden mood swings in international finance.

It's said that the outstanding debts accounted for 39.9 percent of forex earnings from goods and service trade and just 13.7 percent of China's gross domestic product last year.

"China has adequate forex reserve and accordingly have strong ability for international payment," said the SAFE.

The regulator said the big increase of foreign debts in 2003 rode largely on China's fast economic growth and improved environment for foreign investment inflow, as well as the interest rate gaps between foreign and local currencies.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2004)