Furthermore, given that local governments and state-owned enterprises are responsible for the majority of China’s bad debts, write-offs, funded by central-government bonds, will probably be necessary – and soon. Though the “debt swap” scheme that the finance ministry just introduced – which allows highly leveraged local governments to swap CN¥1 trillion of debt maturing this year for bonds with lower interest rates – is a step in the right direction, it is far from adequate.
此外，由于地方政府和国有企业占了中国不良债务的大头，因此通过中央政府债券提供资金予以减记也许是必不可少的——并且要快。财政部刚刚推出的“债务置换”机制——允许高负债地方政府将1万亿人民币的今年到期的债务置换为利率更低的债券——方向是正确的，但远远不够。中央政府面临非常有利的财政环境——债务-GDP之比只有20%左右——实施更大规模的债务置换计划正当其时。