BEIJING: China has made significant progress in government budget disclosure and fiscal transparency, providing support for the establishment of a modern budget system, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Central government departments released their 2025 budgets on Wednesday. This is the 16th consecutive year of such disclosures since the practice began in 2010.
Budget disclosure is a crucial component of government transparency and a key measure to enhance budget management, an official with the Ministry of Finance stated in an online statement.
In recent years, the ministry has made efforts to timely disclose the central government budget, and has established a dedicated platform for central budget and final account disclosures, facilitating public oversight of government spending, the official said. Disclosing performance targets plays a pivotal role in improving public access to information and strengthening fiscal transparency, the official noted.
In 2017, central government departments released project performance targets for the first time. Since then, the scope of disclosure has seen a significant expansion, with the number of published performance targets increasing from 10 in 2017 to 796 in 2024.
The ministry pledges to continue expanding performance target disclosures to further improve their quality, the official added.
Earlier, China’s State Council on Wednesday released a document formulated by the Ministry of Commerce to accelerate the transformation of certain cities into international consumption centers.
The document states that China will expedite the transformation of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing into such centers. It also aims to create a globally attractive consumption environment, expand domestic demand and promote high-standard opening-up. –Agencies
