Targeted moves afoot for local govt debt relief

Multipronged package of adjustments to ease financing pressure of localities

China will employ a package of targeted measures to further address local government debt this year, with a particular focus on accelerating the debt swap program, reforming local government financing vehicles and curbing the accumulation of new hidden debt, officials and analysts said.

With the debt-relief package — a multipronged adjustment to ease local government financing pressure — the country is better positioned to pursue the broader agenda of fostering economic stability and progress, they added.

"We will continue to defuse debt risks in the course of development and pursue development in a debt risk-defused environment," said Premier Li Qiang last week while delivering the Government Work Report, which detailed the latest steps of world's second-largest economy to defuse local government debt risks.