China rolls out massive debt-swap plan as Trump returns to White House

Chinese officials unveiled a huge debt-swap program that dont match market hopes for direct economic boost. The 10-trillion-yuan package (around $1.4 trillion) aims to fix local govt balance sheets - not pump money straight into economy

The timing is interesting: announcement comes right after Donald Trump won presidency; his previous statements about 60% tariffs on Chinese goods made many manufacturers nervous. In response Chinese cabinet quickly approved new export insurance rules to help trading companies

Local governments have been struggling since property market went down-hill about 3 years ago (they lost lots of money from land sales to builders). Now theyre cutting workers pay and piling up unpaid bills which hurts money flow in economy. Finance minister Lan Foan says hidden debts reached 14.3 trillion yuan last winter; they want to cut it to 2.3 trillion by 2028

• 6 trillion yuan new debt quota for next 3 yrs
• 4 trillion yuan from already-approved funds
• Expected to save 600 billion in interest costs

“Its not huge if you look at the fiscal shortfalls“ [[said Huang Xuefeng‚ research director at Shanghai Anfang Private Fund Co]]

The govt seems to be keeping some options open - maybe saving stronger moves for when Trump takes office in Jan. Lan mentioned more help is coming: theyʼll support factory upgrades and expand consumer subsidies; but didnt give specifics about size or timing