BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s fiscal revenue fell 3.9% in 2020 from a year earlier, while spending rose 2.8%, the finance ministry said Thursday, highlighting the difficulties in finance government among COVID-19 pandemics.
However, with the world’s second-largest economy kicking back from COVID-induced paralysis, fiscal revenue growth accelerated to 5.5% in the fourth quarter, from 4.7% in the previous quarter , the ministry said in a statement on its website.
China’s economy picked up pace in the fourth quarter, with growth going higher than expected as it ended 2020 by being hit by coronavirus in very good shape and remained close to a larger expansion in the -year even as the global pandemic was declining.
The finance ministry expects last year’s tax and aid cuts to help reduce burdens on corporations by more than 2.5 trillion yuan, and pledged to continue implementing value-added tax reforms. and personal income tax to provide the necessary support for economic recovery.
“Some industries are still eroding the negative impact of the pandemic and the foundations of a sustainable economic recovery are yet to be strengthened,” the ministry said.
It contributed to the ratio of 2020 government debt to GDP at 45.8%, which was below the international line of 60%.
Going forward, authorities would maintain a stable macro-movement ratio, balancing the needs of economic growth and risk control, the finance ministry said, adding that it would reasonably determine the size of the bonds. government to maintain an appropriate amount of expenditure.
It would strongly curb the rise in local government hidden debt and resolve the outstanding hidden debt issues, he said.
Reciting with Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Edited by Shri Navaratnam and Raju Gopalakrishnan