20250312 CUC Xi and board of Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan in 1998

An electronic board from 1998 shows suspended trading for Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. The latest decision by China, under President Xi Jinping, to inject huge sums of public money into ailing banks resembles the situation in Japan in 1990s. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Tomoki Mera and Tomohide Yamaguchi)

Analysis: Will China face same fate as post-bubble Japan?

Beijing moves to inject public funds into state-owned banks, albeit quietly

KATSUJI NAKAZAWA

March 13, 2025 04:00 JST

For the first time since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, China has decided -- albeit quietly this time -- to inject a huge amount of public funds into major state-owned banks to dispel concerns about financial unrest.

The decision was made at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, that ended on Tuesday after adopting a government work report and a 2025 budget plan.