Alexandra StevensonGeverifieerd account

Here’s the problem: govts like this one borrowed for years to create jobs. Much of the money went to building vanity projects — sprawling complexes that often end up empty. As debt soared, regulators tried to tamp down but places like Ruzhou found new & more risky sources of $$

It’s a little like whack-a-mole. “Officials stop one today, and they come up with another tool tomorrow” is how one expert put it. Here’s the most shocking part. Much of the debt is hidden, and by some estimates could be as much as $8 trillion. That’s half of China’s GDP last yr

So officials are trying to force local gov’ts to come clean about their debts. Now comes the double whammy for cities like Ruzhou. China’s economy has slowed by its most in 3 decades which means they can’t grow out of their problems. And Beijing has turned off the lending taps