China to 'appropriately' strengthen proactive fiscal policy in 2024: minister

BEIJING -- China will continue to implement its proactive fiscal policy by "appropriately" strengthening it to improve its effectiveness in 2024, according to Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an.

The country plans to maintain an appropriate level of spending intensity, Lan said at a national fiscal work conference held on Thursday and Friday.

Noting the serious and complicated situations in 2023, Lan said that finance departments at all levels have managed to prevent and defuse local government debt risks and effectively bolster the economic recovery by implementing proactive fiscal policy.

"Next year, we will rationally arrange the scale of government investment," Lan said, adding that the ministry will also optimize and adjust tax policies to make them more targeted.