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China's Finance Minister Lan Fo'an speaks at a press conference on a plan to boost the economy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 8, 2024
CHINA approved a six trillion yuan (around £641 billion) plan today to help local governments refinance their debt, in the latest push to stimulate growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
The plan will be implemented over the next three years, Xu Hongcai, vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress financial and economic committee, told a news conference.
Finance Minister Lan Fo’an estimated that the hidden debt of local governments was 14.3trn yuan (£1.5trn) at the end of 2023. In contrast to most Western countries, the bulk of China’s public-sector debt is held by local and provincial government, not by the central government.
JENNY CLEGG looks at the key points that defined the China-US relationship, for now
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results
Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO reports from the start of Kunming’s Belt and Road media forum, where 200 journalists from 71 countries celebrated a new openness and optimism, forged by China’s enormous contribution to global development
