DAWN OF THE DEBT

生于储蓄大国，中国的年轻人却有着全新的信贷观念。一些人通过触手可得的网络贷款平台满足了消费欲，也因此负债累累；另一些人则迷上了游戏般的基金理财。在乡村，除了亲戚间的相互扶助，借款有了更多选择和便利，但农民能获得的正规金融服务依然有限。步入信贷新时代，我们准备好了吗？

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?