China sets targeted fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio at 3%

China has set the targeted fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio at 3 percent this year, according to the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on Tuesday.

The report said the country will appropriately strengthen proactive fiscal policy while improving policy quality and efficiency this year, and will comprehensively consider development needs and fiscal sustainability, to make good use of fiscal policy and optimize the combination of policy tools.

With the 3 percent planned fiscal deficit rate, the deficits are expected to reach 4.06 trillion yuan ($560 billion) in 2024, with an increase of 180 billion yuan from the budgeted deficits for 2023 at the beginning of last year.

It is expected that fiscal revenue will continue to resume growth this year, and the general public budget expenditure will likely be 28.5 trillion yuan, increasing 1.1 trillion yuan from that of last year.

The country has also planned to issue 3.9 trillion yuan of local government special bonds, with an increase of 100 billion yuan over that of the previous year.

In order to systematically solve the funding problems for some major projects in the process of building a strong country and advancing national rejuvenation, China has also planned to issue ultra-long-term special treasury bonds for several consecutive years starting from this year, the report said, adding the funds raised will be used specifically for the implementation of major national strategies as well as for the security capacity building in key areas, and an amount of 1 trillion yuan will be issued this year.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn