China’s debt-fuelled county admits ‘reckless borrowing’ after video questions 40 billion yuan construction spree

Dushan County in the landlocked southwest province of Guizhou, one of the poorest regions in China, has built a number of white elephant projects over the last four years

Since its release on Sunday, the ‘How Dushan Burnt 40 billion’ video has been viewed over 27 million times on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform

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Dushan County in the landlocked southwest province of Guizhou, one of the poorest regions in China has a population of just 370,000, according to the 2017 census. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:00am, 16 Jul 2020Updated: 7:10am, 16 Jul 2020

A county-level government in China has vowed to make changes after a viral online video raised questions over its debt-fuelled 40 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion) construction spree that began in 2016.

Since its release on Sunday, the How Dushan Burnt 40 billion video has been viewed over 27 million times on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform.

The 22-minute video, produced by Shanghai-based Guan Video, features some of the construction projects that have taken place in Dushan County in the landlocked southwest province of Guizhou, one of the poorest regions in China.

The county, with a population of just 370,000 according to the 2017 census, has embarked on a construction spree for the last four years with a number of white elephant projects, including a 99.9 metre (329 feet) high wooden building that it had hoped would earn recognition as a Guinness World Record.

In view of previous reckless borrowing, [local government] performance boasting, and unfinished projects, [the county government is] working in accordance with laws

Dushan County

But the 200 million yuan (US$28.6 million) structure is shown to have been abandoned, with the video’s presenter questioning how such projects could add value to Dushan.

“In view of previous reckless borrowing, [local government] performance boasting, and unfinished projects, [the county government is] working in accordance with laws, and constantly correcting our ideas in development, purifying the political ideology, and standardising decision making, strengthening project management, and effectively moving towards the rectification of problems,” the county government statement said.

The statement did not directly mention the video, but it promised to turn some of the unused buildings into more commercially viable developments, including converting the wooden building into a hotel, while also changing the way it manages construction projects.