BEIJING - China's outstanding external debt reached $1.43 trillion at the end of September.

This represents a 3-percent rise from $1.39 trillion at the end of June, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) website.

The steady increase in outstanding external debt shows that the sector has almost finished deleveraging.

China's external debt will continue to rise at a steady pace, making the country's international payments more balanced.

In a separate statement, SAFE said external financial assets of China's banking sector stood at $828 billion at the end of September.

The sector's external liabilities amounted to $980 billion, resulting in net liabilities of $152 billion.