the chinese government's leverage rises to all-time high while private sector...
title: the chinese government's leverage rises to all-time high while private sector began to repair its balance sheet
author: zhang xiaojing, liu lei and cao jing
in the first quarter of 2025, china's macro leverage ratio surged by 7.8 percentage points to 298.4%, making it the highest single-quarter increase in nearly a decade. the government leverage ratio hit a new two-decade high, a trend that has actively supported the repair of private-sector balance sheets and fueled a robust economic rebound at the start of this year. meanwhile, the household sector has shifted from deleveraging to leverage stabilization, while the corporate sector showed a tendency to increase leverage. these developments collectively underscore the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance innovation based on national macro balance sheet management.
