China’s central bank governor has warned that the country’s corporate debt levels are too high and are stoking risks for the economy, just as highly-leveraged Chinese companies have gone on an overseas takeover binge.

中国央行行长警告，中国企业负债水平过高，正在助燃经济风险。目前，高杠杆的中国企业掀起了境外并购狂潮。

Adding his voice to a recent chorus of concern by senior Chinese officials, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), told global business leaders meeting in Beijing that the ratio of lending to gross domestic product was becoming excessive.

中国人民银行(PBoC)行长周小川呼应了近期中国其他高官的表态，他在北京举行的全球商界领袖会议上表示，债务与国内生产总值(GDP)之比正在变得过分。

“Lending and other debt as a share of GDP, especially corporate lending and other debt as a share of GDP, is on the high side,” he said, adding that a highly leveraged economy was more prone to macroeconomic risk.

“总的借贷等债务和GDP的比重，特别是企业部门借贷等债务占GDP的比重偏高，”他表示。他补充说，一个高杠杆的经济更容易产生宏观经济风险。

Corporate debt in China has risen to about 160 per cent of GDP, while total debt is about 230 per cent, according to Financial Times estimates. The Bank for International Settlements warned this month that a steep rise in private and corporate debt in emerging market economies — “including the largest” — was “eerily reminiscent” of the pre-crisis financial boom in advanced economies.

根据英国《金融时报》估算，中国的公司债务已上升到约相当于GDP的160%，而总债务约相当于GDP的230%。国际清算银行(BIS)本月曾警告，新兴市场经济体——“包括其中最大的”——私人和公司债务急剧增加，“吊诡地让人联想起”发达经济体在金融危机爆发之前出现的金融繁荣。

Mr Zhou’s comments came at the end of a week of extraordinary dealmaking by Chinese companies overseas, with Anbang, the Chinese insurance company, bidding nearly $20bn for Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Strategic Hotels & Resorts.

周小川发表此言之际，中国企业在境外交易方面结束了异常繁忙的一周。中国保险商安邦(Anbang)出价近200亿美元收购喜达屋酒店及度假村(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)和Strategic Hotels & Resorts。

Total outbound Chinese merger and acquisitions spending since January is over $100bn, according to figures from Dealogic. Data from 54 Chinese companies that did overseas deals last year show that many are “highly leveraged”, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Dealogic的数据显示，自1月以来，中国企业对外并购收购总额已超过1000亿美元。另据标准普尔全球市场情报(S&P Global Market Intelligence)介绍，去年达成境外交易的54家中国企业的数据显示，有很多是“高杠杆的”。

Chinese officials are concerned that the stability of China’s financial system could be threatened if Chinese companies are unable to repay a large amount of debt, which in turn can threaten economic growth. And as recent months have shown, instability in Chinese financial markets and risks to mainland economic growth rapidly feed through into global markets.

中国官员们担忧，如果中国企业无法偿还大量债务，中国金融体系的稳定可能受到威胁，进而危及经济增长。同时，正如近几个月的情况所表明的，中国金融市场的不稳定和中国经济增长面临的风险，会很快波及全球市场。

Earlier this month Moody’s warned it may downgrade China’s sovereign rating, a sign of increasing investor concern about the country’s rising debt and falling foreign exchange reserves.

本月早些时候，穆迪(Moody’s)警告其可能下调中国主权评级，这个迹象表明投资者对中国债务上升、外汇储备下降的担忧正在加剧。

Mr Zhou told the China Development Forum, attended by top government officials as well as foreign business chiefs including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, that one way to tackle high leverage was to develop “robust capital markets” so that companies can increase equity financing and reduce reliance on debt.

周小川对出席“中国发展高层论坛2016年会”的高级政府官员和外国企业老总——包括Facebook的马克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)表示，解决高杠杆率的一种方法是“促进资本市场健康发展”，使企业能够增加股权融资，减少对借贷杠杆的依赖。

Last week China’s chief banking regulator announced a move to try to tackle the country’s bad debt problem by opening the way for the country’s lenders to use debt-for-equity swaps to rid themselves of some of the $200bn of bad bank loans on their balance sheets.

上周中国银行业监管机构负责人宣布了一项旨在解决国内不良贷款问题的举措，允许国内各银行利用债转股手段，摆脱其资产负债表上2000亿美元不良贷款的一部分。

Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, raised the idea at the closing session of the annual meeting of parliament in Beijing.

中国银监会主席尚福林在北京举行的全国人大年度会议闭幕会议上提出这一构想。

The plan has been put forward as a way of tackling the trillions of renminbi of debt that have built up in the Chinese economy as a result of decades of debt-fuelled stimulus and easy credit.

该计划是被作为处置中国经济中积累的数万亿元人民币债务的一种方式而提出的，这些债务是长期由债务推动的刺激以及宽松信贷的结果。

Chinese banks’ bad debts stand at Rmb1.27tn, according to official figures, although some analysts believe the real number is many times higher.

根据官方数字，中国各银行的不良贷款总计1.27万亿元人民币，尽管一些分析师认为，实际数字要高出很多倍。

About one-third of listed Chinese companies owe at least three times as much in debt as they own in assets, according to figures from Wind.

根据Wind资讯的数字，大约三分之一中国上市企业的债务至少三倍于资产。

Also speaking at Sunday’s conference, Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, said China was in the middle of a historic transition that was “good for China and good for the world.”

同样在周日会议上发表讲话的国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁克里斯蒂娜•拉加德(Christine Lagarde)表示，中国正在推进一场历史性转型，这种转型“对中国有利，对世界有利”。

“The world will be watching closely to learn from China as it deftly manages the delicate balance between economic transformation and deeper global integration,” she said.

“在中国巧妙把握经济转型与加深全球一体化之间的微妙平衡之际，世界将密切关注，汲取中国的经验，”她表示。