Ministry of Finance Lays Out Local Government Debt Priorities

China’s local governments must finish shifting their borrowings into bonds by August to comply with the deadline set by the State Council for the debt-swap program, the Ministry of Finance said in a notice on Monday that listed its priorities for the management of local government liabilities for 2018.

Controlling financial risks is one of the Chinese leadership’s top three economic priorities this year. Against this backdrop, the ministry told local governments to step up the monitoring and prevention of debt risks in their jurisdictions, identify high-risk areas and report them to special local government leading groups in charge of debt. They must also set up assessment and early warning systems to monitor the situation and take effective measures to defuse dangers.