BEIJING: A series of fiscal policy measures that are set to be rolled out in the near future are expected to further boost confidence in the Chinese economy and underpin its stable growth to ensure the annual development target will be achieved, Chinese economists said on Sunday.
China’s finance officials have pledged to introduce a package of targeted incremental fiscal policy measures soon, in keeping with the continuously intensifying policy support for the economy that has been announced over the past several weeks. These measures have significantly lifted expectations for the world’s second-largest economy.
During a press conference in Beijing on Saturday, Minister of Finance Lan Fo’an announced that in addition to accelerating the implementation of policies that are already in place, a package of targeted incremental policy measures will be introduced soon, with the focus on stabilizing growth, expanding domestic demand and defusing risks.
The policy measures will focus on four aspects, including increased efforts to help tackle local government debt risks, expand special treasury bond issues to support commercial banks, and various policy tools to help stabilize the real estate market, according to the finance minister.
Among the policy measures, support will be strengthened for government to resolve debt risks, with the debt quota to be increased on a relatively large scale to tackle hidden risks, to enable local governments to free up more energy and financial resources to promote development and protect people’s livelihoods, Lan said.
“It needs to be emphasized that this upcoming policy is the most powerful measure introduced in recent years to tackle debt issues. This is undoubtedly a timely policy that will greatly reduce the pressure on local efforts to tackle debt issues and free up more resources to develop the economy and boost the confidence of business entities,” the finance minister said. Many in China and around the world have been paying close attention to the specific amount of fiscal stimulus that will be offered to boost the economy, but Lan said that arrangements for the specific amount will be released to the public after going through legal proceedings.
The finance minister noted that local debt risks have been alleviated as a whole, and debt reduction work has achieved phased results, after the local government debt limit was fixed at over 2.2 trillion yuan in 2023, with an additional 1.2 trillion yuan arranged for 2024 to support local governments, especially high-risk areas, to resolve existing debt risks and other issues. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
