China Clamps Down on Local Officials in Bid to Tackle Troubled Debt

(Beijing) — China is putting more teeth into efforts to constrain mounting government debt, vowing both to hold officials accountable for bad loans and to wean lenders from their addiction to government bailouts, analysts said.

China has relied heavily on government-backed infrastructure projects and an overheated property market to fuel growth in recent years. As a result, local authorities embarked on a borrowing binge that is turning increasingly risky as debts pile up and economic expansion loses momentum.