Beijing is debating whether to offer a bailout to indebted property developer Evergrande, as the crisis shakes global stock markets.
The developer is due to make the latest round of payments on its $300bn debt today (21 September), and has warned investors and lenders that it will default.
President Xi is determining whether he can allow the corporate giant to go bust in what is being dubbed “China’s Lehman Brothers crisis”, and the most acute test of its approach to capitalism.
Should Evergrande – which was once the 122nd largest company in the world by revenue – be allowed to fail, experts warned that it could be the tip of an iceberg affecting China’s financial system and beyond.
Concerns surrounding the developer have already triggered a sell-off in global markets, with Wall Street experiencing its biggest fall since May.
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