China's Credit Data Show Signs Deleveraging Is Starting to Bite

China’s efforts to curb credit growth are increasingly showing signs of working.

Top leaders signaled a shift away from stringent growth targets at a key twice-a-decade Party Congress last month, and the central bank chief has warned of the risk of a sudden collapse in asset prices due to over-optimism. A faster than anticipated slowing of credit may present a risk to the economic outlook next year, at a time when China is seeking to open its financial system to outside investors further.