China approves $840B plan to refinance local government debt, boost slowing economy

Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — China has announced a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion) plan to help local governments refinance their mountains of debt in the latest push to rev up growth in the world’s second largest economy. Officials said the plan will be implemented over the next three years. The latest stimulus measure from Beijing followed a meeting of leaders of the national legislature. Finance Minister Lan Fo’an estimated that the amount of hidden debt will drop from 14.3 trillion yuan ($2 trillion) to 2.3 trillion yuan ($320.9 billion) by the end of 2028. Analysts have called for bold, multi-trillion yuan measures to reinvigorate the world’s second largest economy, which has yet to bounce back fully from the COVID-19 pandemic.