BEIJING - China's external debt expanded 12 percent year-on-year to $1.97 trillion at the end of last year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Friday.

The growth was mainly attributed to the increase of debt securities, currency and deposit, as well as trade credit and advance payment, the SAFE said.

"China's economy saw steady performance in 2018, the demand of foreign investors for owning domestic RMB bonds continued to increase and the structure of debt instruments became more stable," SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying said.

"China's foreign debt risk is generally within control," Wang said, citing that China's foreign debt ratio, debt ratio, debt service ratio and other indicators are within the internationally recognized safety line.

SAFE will further improve the "macro-prudential plus micro-supervisory" management framework for cross-border capital flows, pay close attention to changes in the foreign debt situations and strengthen foreign debt risk prevention, Wang said.