China's financial sector made new progress in 2024, contributing to the realization of the annual economic and social development goals, China's Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an said at the National Financial Work Conference which ran from Monday to Tuesday in Beijing.
So far this year, the Ministry of Finance has stepped up efforts to implement a series of fiscal policies to boost the economy, including issuing 1-trillion-yuan (about 139 billion U.S. dollar) worth of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to raise funds for the implementation of major national strategies and to build up security capacity in key areas, and adopting financial interest subsidy policies for equipment renewal loans.
"We have rolled out a package of incremental policies, issued special treasury bonds to help large state-owned commercial banks replenish their core tier-1 capital, specified tax policies in line with the elimination of the standards for ordinary and non-ordinary housing, and promoted the issuance of exclusive bonds designed to support land reserves and the government acquisition of existing commercial housing projects for use as government-subsidized homes, among others. In addition, we have also managed to raise the minimum level of financial aid to university students, and enlarge the coverage of the relevant policies. These efforts have effectively boosted public confidence and contributed to promoting economic rebound in a remarkable way," Lan told the meeting.
According to Lan, China will adopt a more proactive fiscal policy in 2025, including setting a higher deficit-to-GDP ratio, and increasing the intensity of fiscal spending, and increasing the issuance of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds and special-purpose bonds for local governments.
"Next year, we will raise the deficit-to-GDP ratio to ensure further increase in total fiscal expenditure. We will also issue ultra-long-term special treasury bonds on a larger scale than this year, aiming to further support projects for implementing major national strategies and building up security capacity in key areas, as well as for implementing large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs. Efforts will be made to expand the scale of special-purpose bonds for local governments, along with optimizing and improving the management mechanism for such bonds. A negative list will be worked out to specify areas where special-purpose bonds can be allocated, and the range of their use as project capital will be expanded," he said.
China's financial sector makes progress in 2024, supporting development goals: minister
China's financial sector makes progress in 2024, supporting development goals: minister
China's financial sector makes progress in 2024, supporting development goals: minister
