Local Chinese Governments Paid $148 Billion in Interest in 2022

China paid more than 1 trillion yuan ($148 billion) in interest on local government debt last year as the country issued a record amount of local government bonds to bolster the economy with increased public spending.

In 2022, China issued 4.76 trillion yuan of new local government bonds, a record since local governments were enabled to borrow on the open market starting in 2015, according to data released Sunday by the Finance Ministry.