Coronavirus: a global consumer default wave is just getting started in China

Like millions of people around the world, Zhang Chunzi borrowed money she thought she would be able to repay before the coronavirus changed everything. Now laid off from her job at an apparel exporter in Hangzhou, the prosperous capital of east China’s Zhejiang province, the 23-year-old is missing payments on 12,000 yuan (US$1,700) of debt on her credit card and an online lending platform operated by Ant Financial. “I’m late on all the bills and there’s no way I can pay my debt in full,” Zhang said.

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