More steps needed to tackle debt problems

China has less motivation to further stimulate economic growth, but the government needs to search for more methods to control debt and reduce default risks, according to officials and economists.

China's macroeconomic leverage ratio, or the total debt-to-GDP proportion, rose slightly in the first quarter, but the overall leverage level still remained stable, Huang Xiaolong, deputy head of the Financial Stability Bureau of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said at a media conference on Wednesday.

Recent research from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences showed that by the end of March, the macro leverage ratio climbed to 248.83 percent from 243.7 percent in 2018, as the government utilized several easing policies to support GDP growth in the first three months.