中国债务首次超过欧洲

中国债务首次超过欧洲
China's Debt Surpasses Europe For The First Time

原始链接: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/chinas-debt-surpasses-europe-first-time

中国政府债务已首次超过欧盟，预计到2025年将达到18.7万亿美元，而欧盟为17.6万亿美元。这标志着全球债务的重大转变，凸显了中国过去二十年来快速的借贷——自2008年以来，年增长率约为17%。数据显示，时间跨度为1995-2025年，自2008年金融危机以来，债务路径出现分歧。欧洲保持相对克制的债务增长（年均约3%），而美国和中国则迅速扩张。美国目前持有最高的债务，为38.3万亿美元，这得益于持续的赤字和较少的财政限制。中国债务激增归因于信贷扩张、基础设施投资和国家主导的增长，而欧洲较慢的增长反映了2010-2012年主权债务危机后更严格的财政政策。这些数据强调了不断变化的全球金融格局，美国和中国在政府债务累积方面处于领先地位。

原文

China’s government debt has surpassed the European Union’s for the first time, marking a major shift in the global debt landscape.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S., China, and Europe have followed very different borrowing paths. While Europe kept debt growth relatively constrained, both the U.S. and China expanded rapidly—especially after 2020.

The chart below, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, visualizes annual government debt totals for the U.S., EU, and China from 1995 to 2025 in current U.S. dollars (not adjusted for inflation), using data from the IMF.

In 2025, China’s government debt reached $18.7 trillion, surpassing the EU’s $17.6 trillion total for the first time.

The crossover underscores how rapidly China’s borrowing has scaled over the past two decades.

The Rapid Rise in U.S. and China’s Government Debt

In 2008, U.S. government debt stood at $10.9 trillion, roughly in line with the EU’s $10.7 trillion total. By 2025, it had surged to $38.3 trillion, leaving the EU behind by $20.7 trillion.

The data table below shows the government debt of the U.S., China, and EU from 1995 to 2025 in current U.S. dollars:

From just $1.2 trillion in 2008, China’s government debt grew at roughly 17% annually—fast enough to overtake the EU in less than two decades.

Since 2008, U.S. government debt expanded at about 7.7% per year, compared with roughly 3.0% per year for the EU.

Why China and U.S. Debt Grew Much Faster than Europe’s

While the EU’s slower debt growth partially reflects weaker nominal growth across the bloc compared to the U.S. and China, it also is a symptom of the bloc’s tighter fiscal constraints after Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, which peaked between 2010 and 2012.

In contrast, China’s surge in debt was driven by credit expansion, infrastructure spending, and state-backed growth.

The U.S., meanwhile, combined crisis-era borrowing with persistent deficits, especially after 2020, allowing debt to scale far beyond Europe’s. With fewer fiscal constraints at the federal level, Washington has maintained higher spending levels—helping explain why U.S. debt now stands far above both China and the EU.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s $111 Trillion in Government Debt on Voronoi.