SHANGHAI — Troubled by huge debts run up by big state companies and politically connected local governments, China is taking steps instead to go after the little guys.

Chinese officials have ordered provincial governments to establish online platforms naming those who do not pay their obligations, official media reported this week. The lists should be maintained by local news organizations as well as courts and regulators, the report said, with an aim of exposing deadbeats and pressuring them to pay up.

The new effort is unlikely to affect big borrowers, like major state-owned companies and other big firms, whose debts are almost never called in. But it could intensify and centralize officials’ broader moves to assign ratings to individuals based on creditworthiness and other criteria; practices like credit scoring are only just now taking off in the country.

Local officials across China have used public pressure to get results in recent years. Billboards that publicly name irresponsible debtors are a common sight in some areas. In others, local officials have worked with telecommunications companies to make sure those who call an irresponsible debtor get a recording urging them to get their acquaintance to pay up. Other steps include adding debtors to travel blacklists that keep them from boarding planes and high-speed trains.