China’s Xi’an Bond Brokerage Default Threatens Billions in Savings, Flags Regime Debt Crunch

A 30-year-old city brokerage default puts over 6,000 retirees at risk and spotlights the $10 trillion local-government debt Beijing is scrambling to hide.

Hundreds of investors have massed daily outside Xi’an City Hall since Jingwei Treasury Bond Service defaulted in late March, putting their retirement and emergency savings at risk. Photo courtesy of interviewee

If a U.S. broker goes bust, the Treasury bills in held by an individual still exist; the federal government—not the broker—owes the money.

That safety net is missing in China.