China - national debt 2019-2029 | Statista (2024)

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China - national debt 2019-2029 | Statista? ›

National debt of China 2029

In 2023, aggregate local government debt had risen to 92 trillion yuan ($12.58 trillion) and the central government of People's Republic of China ordered its banks to roll over debts in a debt-restructuring. China's gross external debt in 2023 was $2.38 trillion.

China is one of the United States's largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. 1 However, it does not own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country. Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money.

On October 23, 1981, America's national debt crossed the $1 trillion mark. It was an unprecedented, staggering, and earth-shattering figure.

The U.S. government's national debt recently topped $34 trillion, a new record. But how worried should you be about the country's borrowing? The debt has been a source of tension among politicians, with lawmakers narrowly avoiding a default last year through a debt ceiling deal.

China's real problem is corporate debt. The ratio of nonfinancial corporate debt-to-GDP jumped to 116% from 93% in the three years after the stimulus began, and then continued to increase. Now at about 153%, China's corporate debt-to-GDP ratio is one of the highest in the world.

Russia National Government Debt reached 281.6 USD bn in Feb 2024, compared with 287.8 USD bn in the previous month. Russia National Government Debt data is updated monthly, available from May 2009 to Feb 2024. The data reached an all-time high of 384.2 USD bn in Jun 2022 and a record low of 86.1 USD bn in May 2009.

Why do we owe China so much money? ›

But the most important reason is that China receives a surplus of U.S. dollars due to the trade imbalance between the two countries, as China exports more to the U.S. than it imports. But, Chinese companies and their workers need to be paid in China's local currency.

Foreign countries buy US Treasury securities since they are considered as one of the most secure assets. Among other countries, Japan and China have continued to be the top owners of US debt during the last two decades.

China is in the midst of a profound economic crisis. Growth rates are flagging as an unsustainable mountain of debt piles up; China's debt-to-GDP ratio reached a record 288% in 2023.

China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019. And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota.

It's going to put it into bonds of other countries. It will have to buy other currencies in order to invest in those countries' bonds. So US interest rates will no doubt rise as the supply of US Treasury bonds suddenly increases and the dollar will fall as China moves a lot of money out of dollars.

China has invested in US treasury bonds that represent a small fraction of the total of US debt and they can sell them if they choose but they cannot “call them in.” Chinese investment in US bonds represents less than 5% of all US debt. Why doesn't China lend money to the USA to pay off its national debt?

The Federal Budget

Debt held by the public, boosted by the large deficits, reaches its highest level ever in 2029 (measured as a percentage of GDP) and then continues to grow, reaching 166 percent of GDP in 2054 and remaining on track to increase thereafter.

The federal government's record-high national debt is set to get even bigger, reaching a massive $54 trillion by the year 2034. That's according to a new forecast released Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

By then, the debt is projected to surpass $54 trillion. Interest rates have surged to two-decade highs over the past year, making borrowing costs an increasingly significant contributor to the national debt. From 2024 to 2034, the United States will spend more than $12 trillion alone on interest costs.