China’s local government debt now at $3.3 trillion – CASS researcher

From the Wall Street Journal overnight:

• Liu Yuhui, researcher at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) says the current dependence on heavy borrowings to drive rapid economic growth is unsustainable
• “My point is that there has been a notable rise in the overall government debt level over the past two years”
• Says that its a problem that the widely held assumption that the central government will rescue any local administration unable to repay itsdebt, which means local governments have little incentive to keep their borrowing in check
• “We can manage under the current system for now but potential risks could materialize in the future”

More details: Researcher Puts China’s Local Government Debt at $3.3 Trillion (The Wall Street Journal is often gated, so if you’re unable to access the article try a search of Google news using the headline)