Finance minister outlines plans for control of local debt

China will tighten control on local government debt, especially to curb risks arising from "hidden debt", to maintain financial stability, Finance Minister Liu Kun said on Tuesday.

The country will push forward the local government debt swap program - a way to repay the outstanding debt using money collected through issuing bonds. That will be the key measure to prevent an increase in hidden debt, experts said.

Liu made the remark at a meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee in Beijing while delivering a report on the government's budget enforcement. He said that in the next step, the country will speed the development of a "long-term supervision mechanism" on local government debt.