<div id="readability-page-1"><div>China’s government debt has surpassed the European Union’s for the first time, marking a major shift in the global debt landscape.Since the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S., China, and Europe have followed very different borrowing paths. While Europe kept debt growth relatively constrained, both the U.S. and China expanded rapidly—especially after 2020.The chart below, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, visualizes annual government debt totals for the U.S., EU, and China from 1995 to 2025 in current U.S. dollars (not adjusted for inflation), using data from theIMF.<img width="500" height="527" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.zerohedge.com/_next/image/query-cT03NSZ1cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuemVyb2hlZGdlLmNvbS9zM2ZzLXB1YmxpYy9pbmxpbmUtaW1hZ2VzL2dvdmVybm1lbnQtZGVidC11c2EtZXUtY2hpbmElMjAlMjgxJTI5LmpwZyZ3PTE5MjA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.zerohedge.com/_next/image/query-cT03NSZ1cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuemVyb2hlZGdlLmNvbS9zM2ZzLXB1YmxpYy9pbmxpbmUtaW1hZ2VzL2dvdmVybm1lbnQtZGVidC11c2EtZXUtY2hpbmElMjAlMjgxJTI5LmpwZyZ3PTE5MjA"/>In 2025, China’s government debt reached $18.7 trillion, surpassing the EU’s $17.6 trillion total for the first time. The crossover underscores how rapidly China’s borrowing has scaled over the past two decades.<h2>The Rapid Rise in U.S. and China’s Government Debt</h2>In 2008, U.S. government debt stood at $10.9 trillion, roughly in line with the EU’s $10.7 trillion total. By 2025, it had surged to $38.3 trillion, leaving the EU behind by $20.7 trillion.The data table below shows the government debt of the U.S., China, and EU from 1995 to 2025 in current U.S. dollars:<img width="500" height="662" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.zerohedge.com/_next/image/query-cT03NSZ1cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuemVyb2hlZGdlLmNvbS9zM2ZzLXB1YmxpYy9pbmxpbmUtaW1hZ2VzLzIwMjYtMDQtMDhfMTMtNTUtMDcuanBnJnc9MTkyMA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.zerohedge.com/_next/image/query-cT03NSZ1cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuemVyb2hlZGdlLmNvbS9zM2ZzLXB1YmxpYy9pbmxpbmUtaW1hZ2VzLzIwMjYtMDQtMDhfMTMtNTUtMDcuanBnJnc9MTkyMA"/>From just $1.2 trillion in 2008, China’sgovernment debtgrew at roughly 17% annually—fast enough to overtake the EU in less than two decades.Since 2008, U.S. government debt expanded at about 7.7% per year, compared with roughly 3.0% per year for the EU.<h2>Why China and U.S. Debt Grew Much Faster than Europe’s</h2>While the EU’s slower debt growth partially reflects weaker nominal growth across the bloc compared to the U.S. and China, it also is a symptom of the bloc’s tighterfiscal constraintsafter Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, which peaked between 2010 and 2012.In contrast, China’s surge in debt was driven by credit expansion, infrastructure spending, and state-backed growth.The U.S., meanwhile, combined crisis-era borrowing withpersistent deficits, especially after 2020, allowing debt to scale far beyond Europe’s. With fewer fiscal constraints at the federal level, Washington has maintained higher spending levels—helping explain why U.S. debt now stands far above both China and the EU.If you enjoyed today’s post, check outThe World’s $111 Trillion in Government Debton Voronoi.</div></div>

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中国政府的债务首次超过欧盟，预计在 2025 年达到 18.7 万亿美元，而欧盟的债务为 17.6 万亿美元。这一变化突显了中国快速的借贷增长，自 2008 年以来年均增长 17%。相比之下，美国的债务年增长率为 7.7%，而欧盟由于主权债务危机后的财政约束，仅增长了 3.0%。债务增长的差异归因于中国的信贷扩张和基础设施支出，而美国则在较少的财政约束下维持了更高的支出水平

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