People walk on the Bund promenade along the Huangpu River in Shanghai on January 19, 2026.

Jade Gao | Afp | Getty Images

Hi, this is Anniek, writing to you from Singapore, with Evelyn, who reported from the Bund Summit in Shanghai last week. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a snapshot of what we are seeing and hearing from China watchers inside and outside the country.

Everyone wants China to spend more. So why is its government spending less, and what happens if the most indebted cities can't afford it anymore?

Governments from Washington to Brussels are being told to spend less, but Beijing is being urged to spend more.

At the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bangkok earlier this month, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called the U.S. and European countries the "worst offenders" on debt and boiled down her prescription: "China needs to spend more, the U.S.…