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Credit Frenzy in China

Consumer spending is booming in China, but so is consumer debt - is the country following the same path that led the Western world into financial meltdown in 2008?

Consumer spending is booming in China, but so is consumer debt - is the country following the same path that led the Western world into financial meltdown in 2008?

Ed Butler visits shopping malls and a university campus to discover how easily young people can load up on debt. But the loans can come with some disturbing conditions attached, including naked selfies - conditions that have driven some borrowers to suicide. The programme features interviews with Soul Htite of online credit marketplace Dianrong, and Professor Michael Pettis of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: A woman walks pass a 100 yuan note display in Beijing; Credit: Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images)

Available now

18 minutes

Last on

Fri 6 Oct 2017 07:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Fri 6 Oct 2017 07:32GMT

Podcast