China hailed a property developer with $64 billion in revenue as a role model. Now the country’s property crisis threatens to send it into default too

Country Garden was supposed to be a survivor of China’s property crisis.  Officials hailed the company, led by chair Yang Huiyan, as a model developer. It avoided default even as competitors missed payments in late 2021 and early 2022. It delivered its audited results on time, while auditors were busy bailing on the sector.