Big Buddha and funeral home rights: how China is tackling its massive debt burden

Zero-Covid spending and lower taxes has led to £4.2tn in local government debt, posing a 'big headache' for the economy In China's Sichuan province, Leshan city has plans to sell the operating rights to the Big Buddha, a 71-metre tall Tang dynasty stone statue, in one of a series of creative methods cash-strapped local governments are using raise money. Having spent more than £42bn last year on Covid-prevention measures, and hit by falling tax revenues, by December 2022 local governments had a...