China’s Overwhelming Debt Burden Points To Still Deeper Problems (2024)

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FAQs

China’s Overwhelming Debt Burden Points To Still Deeper Problems? ›

The size of China's debt problem

debt problem

Debt crisis is a situation in which a government (nation, state/province, county, or city etc.) loses the ability of paying back its governmental debt. When the expenditures of a government are more than its tax revenues for a prolonged period, the government may enter into a debt crisis.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Debt_crisis

Debt crisis - Wikipedia

is truly staggering. At last measure, debt of all sorts – public and private and in all sectors of the economy — amounted to the equivalent of $51.9 trillion, almost three times the size of China's economy as measured by the country's gross domestic product.

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What is China's overwhelming debt burden? ›

China's debt-to-GDP ratio climbed to a new record high in 2023 despite the slow pace of borrowing, reflecting the economy's weakening growth, a new report from a state-backed think tank shows.

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Why is China's debt a problem? ›

The underlying problem is structural. China has raised too much debt for the amount of demand there is in its economy - an imbalance that could get worse before it gets better. The housing market has been the linchpin of Chinese growth. Its success drove local government revenues.

Is China deeply in debt? ›

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.

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Does China have more debt than the United States? ›

Debt as a share of GDP has risen to about the same level as in the United States, while in dollar terms China's total debt ($47.5 trillion) is still markedly below that of the United States (close to $70 trillion). As for non-financial corporate debt, China's 28 percent share is the largest in the world.

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Does the US own any of China's debt? ›

The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.

Why do we owe China so much money? ›

China focuses on export-led growth to help generate jobs. To keep its export prices low, China must keep the renminbi low compared to the U.S. dollar. U.S. debt to China comes in the form of U.S. Treasuries, largely due to their safety and stability.

Characteristic	National debt in billion U.S. dollars
2022	12,797.79
2021	11,358.74
2020	9,931.52
2019	8,261.98