DAWN OF THE DEBT

生于儲蓄大國，中國的年輕人卻有著全新的信貸觀念。一些人通過觸手可得的網絡貸款平臺滿足了消費欲，也因此負債累累；另一些人則迷上了游戲般的基金理財。在鄉村，除了親戚間的相互扶助，借款有了更多選擇和便利，但農民能獲得的正規金融服務依然有限。步入信貸新時代，我們準備好了嗎？

For a supposed “nation of savers,” Chinese have a long and close relationship with debt.From generational networks of borrowing between kin in villages to online apps that “gamify”lending and investment, debt is the hidden hand behind much of China’s consumption-oriented economic growth in the last two decades.Even local governments have got in on the act, taking on loans to fund rural development projects.But while young Chinese embrace easy online loans to fuel their shopping habits, or jump on the latest fads in mutual funds and “wealth management,”credit remains out of reach for farmers in the countryside who lack assets, financial knowledge,or even access to a bank.And while loans offer the opportunity of greater financial freedom and prosperity, debt also proves an abyss for thousands who struggle to make repayments.With the economy gradually slowing down,are China’s debtors living on borrowed time?