Local govt debts get high-level attention

Meeting singles out municipal finances as an urgent item on budget agenda

China has identified "containing local government debt risk" as a major task for next year's economic policy, underscoring Beijing's growing concern about local governments' excessive borrowing.

In an announcement following the annual Central Economic Work Conference, the Communist Party of China vowed to treat the debt issue as a critical task and promised to put different kinds of debt under broader budget management.