China issues nearly 1.5t yuan in new local govt bonds in Jan-April

BEIJING -- China's local governments issued new bonds worth about 1.49 trillion yuan ($207.63 billion) in the first four months of 2025, data from the Ministry of Finance showed Wednesday.

Of the total, special-purpose bond issuance came in at over 1.19 trillion yuan, while general-purpose bond issuance amounted to 302.3 billion yuan.

By the end of April, outstanding local government debts stood at over 50.69 trillion yuan, according to the ministry.

China has pledged a more proactive fiscal policy this year to shore up sustained economic and social development. The country decided to issue 4.4 trillion yuan of local government special-purpose bonds in 2025, marking an increase of 500 billion yuan from last year, according to this year's government work report.