Schaeuble says Chinese growth 'built on debt'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday that high debt levels remain a source of concern for the global economy, noting that growth in China appeared to be "built on debt".
In a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Schaeuble said expansionary monetary policy and debt-financed fiscal policy had spawned the financial crises of the past decades and continued to weigh on global growth.
"Debt levels in the global economy continue to give cause for concern," Schaeuble said, citing data showing global debt has risen by $57 trillion since 2007, with government debt making up nearly half of that amount.
"In China, debt has nearly quadrupled since 2007," he added. "China's growth appears to be built on debt, driven by a real estate boom and shadow banks."
He added that an "alarming" amount of corporate debt was being issued by companies with poor credit ratings.
(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Caroline Copley)
