China's government debt may exceed 15 trillion yuan ($2.45 trillion), said a government researcher, amid an ongoing audit of total borrowing.

Zhao Quanhou, head of financial research at the Fiscal Science Research Center affiliated with the Ministry of Finance, suggested that the figure may even run up to 18 trillion yuan.

Although debt has expanded at a controllable pace, experts said that aggressive borrowing by local governments must be halted, while many of these entities are trying to raise more money right now.