Beijing Steps Up Crackdown on Illegal Government Fundraising

China will crack down on local officials who use their positions to guarantee loans to state-run enterprises (SOEs), extending a nearly 2-year-old campaign to stamp out illegal local government fundraising, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The ministry announced its latest crackdown on its website after conducting a survey last month to determine whether local governments were collecting money by methods other than issuing bonds — the only legal fundraising method since last year.