BOAO, Hainan - China's debt issue has not reached a particularly dangerous level as the country does not have a high debt-to-GDP ratio, former finance minister Xiang Huaicheng said in Boao, Hainan province on Saturday.

"The majority of the debts are internal ones, and the government has always adhered to the principle of sustainability while handling the debt issue," Xiang told a sub-forum of the 2013 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA).

He said that China's debt-to-GDP ration stood at about 37.8 percent in 2011 and 40 percent in 2012.

"Some problems should not be ignored, although the debt issue is not so serious," Xiang said.

Take for instance, he said, the loans issued by some policy banks came from inter-bank bond, which take on the nature of government debts.

"The amount of debts in this regard is not small," Xiang said.