Why China’s Debt Defaults Are Picking Up Yet Again

Chinese companies are facing a reality check after years of ramping up debt. A de-leveraging campaign that President Xi Jinping began in 2016 to curb risks in financial markets has led to a crackdown on unregulated lending — so-called shadow banking — and tighter rules on asset management. That made it harder for some to raise funds to repay existing debt, leading to a record number of bond defaults in 2018 and 2019 as economic growth slowed. Now there’s the added risk from the spread of the d