The article examines how state ownership affects the debt financing choices of Chinese listed firms from 2003 to 2015. By analyzing different firm sizes, the researchers found that increasing state ownership can lead to a decrease in total and short-term debt financing, especially for smaller firms. However, larger firms are not significantly impacted by changes in state ownership. The study suggests that smaller Chinese listed firms may reduce short-term debt financing by increasing state ownership, even if it means sacrificing private solvency.