BEIJING -- China's total outstanding external debt stood at $2.37 trillion at the end of September, indicating overall stability in the third quarter, data from the country's forex regulator showed on Wednesday.

Its external debt scale decreased slightly, with a generally stable currency structure and optimized maturity structure, said Li Bin, deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

At the end of September, local currency-denominated external debt accounted for 51.9 percent of the total, which was down 0.2 percentage points from the end of June.

In terms of maturity structure, medium and long-term external debt accounted for 42.5 percent of the total, up 0.1 percentage points from the end of June.