China’s general public budget spending expanded 3.4 percent year-on-year to 10.8359 trillion yuan ($1.52 trillion) in the first five months of 2024, the Ministry of Finance said Monday. Data from the finance ministry also reveals that China’s general public budget revenue declined by 2.8 percent year-on-year to 9.6912 trillion yuan in the first five months.
The largest share of China’s public budget spending went to education, social security and employment. Meanwhile, sectors including agriculture, forestry and water conservancy reported the fastest growth during the January-May period.
After deducting factors such as the introduction of tax relief measures for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the same period of last year, the ministry revealed that the increase in spending declined to around 2 percent.
During the first five months of the year, tax revenues reached 8.0462 trillion yuan, down 5.1 percent year-on-year, with a comparable increase of about 0.5 percent after deducting the impact of special factors, the ministry stated.
In May alone, fiscal revenues declined 3.2 percent year-on-year, compared with a 3.7 percent decline in April. Meanwhile, fiscal spending grew 2.6 percent after a 6.1 percent rise in April.
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China has pledged greater fiscal stimulus to support its economy to a target of 5 percent this year in light of slow domestic activity and rising trade tensions with the U.S. and Europe.
In addition, the country kicked off sales of 1 trillion yuan ($137.82 billion) in long-dated special treasury bonds and launched government-subsidized incentives to support trade-ins of autos and other consumer goods. However, greater pressures in the property market have raised concerns over persistent weakness in domestic demand.
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