According to the McKinsey Global Institute, in 2015, China’s debt, including the financial industry’s debt, increased to US$28.2 trillion, or 282 percent of its GDP level. Its debt was US$7.4 trillion in 2007, as reported in a Caijing article.
"In a few years, real estate development, local government’s heavy borrowing, and the rapid expansion of "shadow banks" (institutes that function as banks but without a government permit) have turned China into a country of heavy debt. Most worrisome is that much of the money that is owed will never be paid back. Local governments have taken on so many projects that not only are they unable to pay the interest, but they are also unlikely to give back the original principle that was invested."
Source: Caijing, April 1, 2016