People across China are being weighed down by their debts and a system that penalizes them for not paying the money back. Beijing is cracking down on delinquent debtors by seizing their salaries or restricting them from getting government jobs, as well as curbing their access to high-speed trains and air travel. Many are forbidden from buying expensive insurance policies and told they aren’t allowed to go on vacation or stay in nice hotels. Authorities can detain them if they don’t comply, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the outlook for six Chinese state-owned banks amid concerns about the government’s ability to support the sector in the event of stress. The move comes after the rating agency cut its outlook for China’s sovereign credit rating last week, the Wall Street Journal reported.

China's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, data showed on Tuesday, offering some relief to officials as they try to shore up growth in the face of protracted weakness in the property sector and mounting local government debt, Reuters. However, several March indicators released alongside the gross domestic product data - including property investment, retail sales and industrial output - showed that demand at home remains frail, weighing on overall momentum.

China’s central bank kept key policy rates steady and drained liquidity from the banking sector as economic data shows fresh signs of weakness, the Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China on Monday held the interest rate on its one-year medium-term lending facility at 2.5% while injecting 100 billion yuan ($13.82 billion) funds via the instrument, according to a statement on its website. With CNY170 billion worth of MLF loans due on Wednesday, the PBOC has drained a net CNY70 billion liquidity from the financial system.

State-backed property developer China Vanke said it is facing short-term liquidity pressure and operational difficulties, but added that it has prepared "a basket of plans" to stabilise its business and cut debt, Reuters reported. Vanke's Hong Kong-listed shares closed down 0.8% on Monday after hitting a record intraday low, while its Shenzhen-listed shares edged up 0.6%, stabilising after nine consecutive sessions of decline.

China's securities regulator issued draft rules on Friday to strengthen the supervision of company listings, delistings and computer-driven programme trading, in a move to improve the stock market and protect investors' interests, Reuters reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will raise the bar for initial public offerings (IPOs), force unqualified companies to delist, and strengthen the oversight of high-frequency trading, according to draft rules put out for public opinion.

Shimao Group shares fell sharply after a Chinese state-run bank, in a rare case, filed a liquidation petition against the heavily indebted developer in Hong Kong, adding uncertainty to a proposed restructuring of billions of dollars of offshore debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shares were 14% lower at 39 Hong Kong cents after Shimao said Monday that Construction Bank (Asia) Corp. filed a winding-up petition with a Hong Kong court on April 5 related to a financial obligation of around HK$1.58 billion (US$201.8 million).

On social media forums and among friends, young people in China are questioning whether to save for old age. Some are opting out, citing the shortage of jobs, low pay and their ambivalence about the future, the New York Times reported. Their skepticism betrays the enormous challenge for China’s leaders. Over less than three decades, the country has changed from a young society to an aging one. Seven straight years of plummeting births are pushing up the day when there will be fewer people working than retirees.

China’s largest property developer, Country Garden, on Tuesday said it had opted to suspend trading of its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange after delaying publication of its 2023 results as it continues to grapple with the slump in the Chinese real estate market, MarketWatch.com reported. The heavily-indebted property developer said it had decided to suspend trading of its shares in order to comply with Hong Kong stock market’s listing rules, which require it to either publish its unaudited financial statements in their current form or halt trading of its shares instead.

Chinese lenders are concerned about future investments at a $1.3 billion port in Peru set to be inaugurated this year, executives told a congressional committee, Bloomberg News reported. Peru’s government is trying to revoke a deal that granted Chinese state-owned company Cosco Shipping exclusive rights to run the new Chancay Port. While most major Peruvian ports have a single operator, Peru argues it didn’t have the legal authority to grant the new facility the same treatment.