China's general budget records fastest spending pace in 5 years

China's national general public budget expenditure rose 4.6 percent year-on-year in the first four months – the fastest spending pace seen since 2020, which is set to stimulate domestic demand and boost recovery momentum, analysts said.

Data released by the Ministry of Finance showed on Tuesday that national general public budget expenditure came in at about 9.36 trillion yuan ($1,296.3 billion) during the January-April period.

Li Xuhong, deputy dean of the Beijing National Accounting Institute, said that the expansion in fiscal spending, which aims to benefit the people and boost consumption, is part of the country's proactive approach to using fiscal policy as a lever to drive economic growth.

The government is also moving swiftly to ramp up the issuance and utilization of local government special bonds and ultra-long special treasury bonds to support the delivery of key projects as quickly as possible, Li added.

The national general public budget revenue, according to official data, reached 8.06 trillion yuan, dipping 0.4 percent year-on-year. This contraction is 0.7 percentage points narrower compared to the first quarter.

General public budget revenue is the sum of tax revenue and non-tax revenue.

China's tax revenue edged down 2.1 percent year-on-year to 6.56 trillion yuan during the first four months. But April saw a 1.9 percent year-on-year growth in tax revenue, marking the first monthly positive increase, according to the ministry.

Official data showed that value-added tax, consumption tax, and personal income tax all registered year-on-year growth during the January-April period.