by Andrew Moran
Mises.org
China was one of the first major countries to recover from the coronavirus-induced economic collapse—but at what cost? The country has taken on enormous levels of public and private debt, eased monetary policy, and issued billions of dollars in new bonds. Yet, as the world’s second-largest economy attempts to return to its pre-crisis glory days, Beijing could potentially deal with a new pandemic that could have a sweeping effect on financial markets at home and abroad: A bond default crisis. Once again, when China sneezes, the world catches a cold.
The Great Default?
The Chinese bond market is at a pressure point with liquidity levels tightening. Although a massive selloff has yet to transpire in the world’s second-largest bond market, all the indicators point to its inevitability. Authorities are desperate to implement more financial discipline and transparency in the debt arena, but it might be a case of too little, too late.