Therefore, many observers fear that excessive lending and borrowing may be creating a bubble, similar to the one that burst in the United States just seven years ago. China’s corporate and household debt as a share of GDP rose 45% in the four years from 2008 to 2012. This is more than twice the increase in U.S. debt during its credit boom between 2002 and 2008, when the debt-to-GDP ratio rose by about 20%. Such rapid increases in borrowing have historically raised the risk of crises in other countries.