BEIJING: China's non-financial debt is estimated to be more than USD 22.7 trillion, accounting for
227.92 per cent of its GDP, a senior Chinese finance ministry official said today amid concerns it may spiral out control.
"The IMF estimated China's non-financial debts at 153.4 trillion yuan (USD 22.7 trillion) in 2015, accounting for 220.4 per cent of the GDP, while that by National Institution for Finance & Development (NFID) put the figure at 154.3 trillion yuan, or 227.92 per cent of GDP," China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said.
China's debt calculation is open and transparent and the risks remain controllable, he was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.
The minister said that the IMF and the NFID figures were almost the same, and the difference stemmed from statistical methods.
Zhu's remarks came amid lingering concerns that China's policy makers underestimated the country's debt level. He, however, dismissed worries about rising debt, describing the level as "reasonable", as both debt ratios of central and local governments were well below 40 per cent.
"Public data reflect that debt risk is completely controllable. We should, however be alert to corporate debts which are increasing too fast," Zhu said.
China has an array of measures in place to manage debt risks, especially those of state-owned companies.
Guidelines on debt-for-equity swaps have been issued, and a ministerial mechanism has been established to tackle corporate leverage, he said.