, Columnist
China Has a Dangerous Dollar Debt Addiction
With $1.2 trillion needing to be rolled over this year, the threat of a funding crunch is rising.
The risks are stacking up.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
China’s foreign debt has been rising rapidly, and that’s becoming an increasingly big problem — for the country and, potentially, the world.
Officially, China lists its outstanding external debt at $1.9 trillion. For a $13 trillion economy, that’s not a major amount. But focusing on the headline number significantly understates the underlying risks.