HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's largest private real estate developer Country Garden (2007.HK) is seeking to delay payment on a private onshore bond for the first time, the latest sign of a stifling cash crunch in the property sector, piling pressure on Beijing to step in.

Adding to worries about contagion risk, a major Chinese trust company that traditionally had sizable exposure to real estate, Zhongrong International Trust Co, has missed its repayment obligations on some investment products.

Analysts warned that a rise in default by trust companies, also known as shadow banks, which have strong ties to the domestic property sector, will further weigh on the world's second-largest economy.

Anxiety about contagion risks is spreading through global markets, putting China's government under mounting pressure to deliver support for the ailing real estate sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the economy.

Once considered a more financially sound developer, Country Garden's woes could also have a chilling effect on homebuyers and financial firms, with more private developers close to a tipping point if Beijing's support does not materialise soon.

The real estate sector has suffered tumbling sales, tight liquidity and a series of developer defaults since late 2021, with China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) at the centre of the debt crisis.

Weak overseas demand, tepid domestic consumption and persistent problems in the property sector have been major factors in China's struggles to mount a solid post-COVID recovery.

In a move that dealt a fresh blow to investors' sentiment, two Chinese listed companies said over the weekend that they had not received payment on maturing investment products from Zhongrong International Trust Co.

Trust firms, or shadow banks, operate outside many of the rules that govern banks, channelling the proceeds of wealth products sold by banks to developers and other sectors that are unable to tap bank funding directly.