China vows to expedite the release of funds to local governments

Beijing, 2020 August 26, Wednesday(CGTN)

China will expedite the release of special funds to enhance fiscal strength at the grassroots, said China’s Vice Finance Minister Xu Hongcai at a press conference on Wednesday.

Earlier, China released new fiscal funds of 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) that aim to directly benefit businesses and people, and consolidate the foundation of the country’s restorative growth.

Expressing satisfaction at the successful release of the funds, Xu said nearly 300 billion yuan of the total funds had been used to support tax and fee cuts by mid August, while 1.674 trillion yuan or 98.5 percent of the remaining 1.7 trillion yuan have been allocated by the central government. Local governments have spent 509.7 billion yuan, accounting for 30.5 percent of 1.674 trillion yuan in funds.

“The implementation of specific policies and measures will have a positive impact on investment, consumption as well as imports and exports,” he said.

Continuous efforts will be made to prompt local governments to spend the allocated funds on market entities and people’s livelihood, closely monitor the use of funds and strictly deal with irregularities and misuse of funds once they are spotted, Xu said.

China has set a 2020 budget deficit of at least 3.6 percent of GDP, up from last year’s 2.8 percent, under the current circumstances. The government also has finished issuing 1 trillion yuan in special treasury bonds.