China’s finance ministry has set up a dedicated department for managing government debt, with Finance Minister Lan Foan calling for “ironclad discipline” to prevent off-balance-sheet borrowing amid Beijing’s ongoing campaign to defuse local government debt risks.
The new debt management department is now listed on the Ministry of Finance’s official website. Its director is Li Dawei, who was previously with the budget department and also led a ministry-affiliated government debt research and evaluation centre.
The department’s main responsibilities include designing and implementing policies related to government debt, managing the issuance and redemption of government debt, and helping to set quotas for national and local…