China's debt is 250% of GDP and 'could be fatal', says government expert

Defaults in the hugely indebted corporate sector could derail state-owned banks, triggering a systemic crisis, economist says

China's total debt was more than double its gross domestic product in 2015, a government economist has said, warning that debt linkages between the state and industry could be "fatal" for the world's second largest economy.

The country's debt has ballooned to almost 250% of GDP thanks to Beijing's repeated use of cheap credit to stimulate slowing growth, unleashing a massive, debt-fuelled spending binge.

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