Speaker: Christine Wong, Visiting Research Professor, East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore

China’s local governments drive 85% of public spending and over 80% of infrastructure investment, yet their finances are in crisis. A long-term fiscal erosion, collapsing land revenues, and soaring debt have left them struggling to meet obligations. These challenges stem from deeper structural issues—tax reforms that weakened revenue growth, an overreliance on land sales to fund budgets, and a misalignment between spending responsibilities and fiscal capacity. While recent debt relief measures provide temporary breathing room, they fail to address the root causes. Bold reforms will be needed to close the fiscal gap, reduce land dependence, and realign revenue with spending. Without decisive action, local fiscal distress will continue to impede economic stability and effective macroeconomic management in China.

Christine Wong is Visiting Research Professor at the East Asian Institute (EAI), National University of Singapore; and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne. She also teaches at the Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University. Prior to joining EAI Christine taught at the University of Melbourne, University of Oxford, University of Washington, and Mount Holyoke College. She also held senior staff positions in the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Her research focuses on China’s public finance and public sector reform, especially the impact of fiscal decentralization on policy implementation in education, health, social welfare, environmental protection, and urbanization