Standard Chartered: Nation's total debt surges to $22.7 trillion

China's overall debt stood at 142 trillion yuan ($22.7 trillion), or 245 percent of GDP, as of March 31, Standard Chartered Plc estimated.

That's up from 133 trillion yuan, or 233 percent of GDP, at the end of 2013, the bank said, noting that debt expansion slowed to 18 percent year-on-year during the first quarter, compared with 24 percent in the first three months of 2013.

Many foreign institutions have estimated the scale of China's debts using various calculation methods.