local governments

How China’s smaller private firms may be paying the price for huge local government debts

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How China’s smaller private firms may be paying the price for huge local government debts

Private firms in China are in a “precarious” situation as debt-ridden local governments increasingly seek to boost earnings through harsh criminal law enforcement, lawyers and observers have warned. The latest such case, involving a businessman based in eastern Shandong province, has sparked fresh worries despite Beijing’s repeated pledges to foster a supportive legal environment for … Read more

‘Crush them’: are China’s local governments using unsustainable tactics to repay debt?

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‘Crush them’: are China’s local governments using unsustainable tactics to repay debt?

On China’s social media platforms last week, a recording surfaced that revealed a side of the country’s debt crisis that has largely gone unreported. The recording is presented as a conversation between an unnamed representative of a medical technology company and a market regulation enforcement officer, surnamed Zhang, from Chengwu county in eastern China’s Shandong … Read more

Chinese leadership says retirement age should rise in ‘voluntary and flexible’ way

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Chinese leadership says retirement age should rise in ‘voluntary and flexible’ way

The document, published by state news agency Xinhua on Sunday, lists a wide range of reform objectives to be completed by 2029, including more than 300 policy measures. It said the government would move to raise the retirement age in an “orderly” and “gradual” way and seek to develop the “silver economy” to create diverse … Read more

China’s third plenum holds out hope for debt-hit local governments with funding reform

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China’s third plenum holds out hope for debt-hit local governments with funding reform

The leadership agreed to grant local governments more “autonomous fiscal capacity”, allowing them to increase their tax sources and “appropriately” expand their management authority relating to taxation, the document revealed. The policy measures from the four-day, closed-door plenary session – aimed at laying out China’s economic road map for the medium term – come as … Read more

China’s anti-graft watchdog calls out local governments for ‘diseases’ of bogus businesses, fake data, phony ‘likes’

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China’s anti-graft watchdog calls out local governments for ‘diseases’ of bogus businesses, fake data, phony ‘likes’

Some local governments in China have been fabricating the number of businesses in their regions – a key indicator of economic recovery – and in one case set hard targets for towns to register fake businesses, the country’s top anti-corruption watchdog said on Monday. In an official notice, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) … Read more