The 7.5 per cent increase is almost double the rate in the previous year, although the total figure of 16.47 trillion yuan (USD 2.56 trillion) is within Beijing’s target of below 18.82 trillion yuan. The figures were released yesterday by the finance ministry.
Local government debt expanded again in China last year despite Beijing’s pledge to rein in a growing national debt load that has sparked fears of a financial crisis in the world’s number two economy.
The 7.5 per cent increase is almost double the rate in the previous year, although the total figure of 16.47 trillion yuan (USD 2.56 trillion) is within Beijing’s target of below 18.82 trillion yuan. The figures were released yesterday by the finance ministry.
Since the global financial crisis in 2008, China’s debt as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown more than 10 percent a year on average, according to IMF estimates, which assessed the ratio had ballooned to 234 percent of GDP by 2016.
