China debt ratio jumps in 1st half as Beijing abandons deleveraging to support trade war-hit economy

China’s total debt ratio continued to grow in the second quarter of 2019 as the government continued to emphasise support for the economy over efforts to reduce excess debt and risky lending.

Even as China’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio surged in the first six months of the year to nearly 250 per cent, there are growing calls among academics and Beijing policy advisers for the country to further loosen its purse strings further to counter the headwinds from the trade war with the United States.Downward pressure on the world’s second largest economy is mounting, as the 14-month old trade conflict escalated further on Friday with another tit-for-tat tariff exchange.

Read More