Beijing – The EU Chamber of Commerce in China has urged that country to accelerate its reforms to stop the slide in economic growth.
“The economy is slowing and promised reforms are taking too long to implement,” the chamber’s President Joerg Wuttke told newsmen on Tuesday ahead of the chamber’s annual conference on European Business in China.
“It’s not the end of the world for us, but times have changed.
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“One of the most urgent problems is the high level of China’s debt,’’ Joerg said.
The yearly increase in gross domestic product (GDP) has slowed to around seven per cent, cooling the enthusiasm of many foreign investing companies.
According to financial consultants McKinsey, the country’s total debt is estimated at 282 per cent of GDP.
Around a fifth of the debt is held by government bodies and nearly a quarter by financial institutions, with 44 per cent by non-financial corporations, and the remaining 13 per cent by households. (dpa/NAN)