There are always people in the media talking about local debt crises, some local governments can't pay civil servant salaries, and in the future, many may not be able to pay either. I think these statements are alarmist.

After all these years, what crisis do local governments have? Only a few local governments have delayed salary payments; they are not defaulting. Moreover, some places are even improving welfare, with retirement salaries getting higher and higher.

It's just that some local finances can no longer support large-scale infrastructure and investment. There is no problem at all with paying internal staff salaries. The Northeast provinces still enjoy transfer payments and are living well.

Local debt is also not an issue; the government has a bunch of tools at its disposal.