40 issuers defaulted for the first time in China bond market in 2018, which reached a historic high and involved 106 defaulted bonds totalling approximately RMB86 billion. This significant increase in bond defaults could mainly be attributed to the slowing economic growth momentum, a tightening financing environment, trade tensions between China and the United States, and a large amount of bonds due in 2018 (about RMB7.6 trillion).