China will roll out additional fiscal policy measures in a timely manner in response to economic developments, Vice Finance Minister Liao Min said on Friday, as the economy loses momentum.
China will maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies and plan and allocate fiscal resources over a longer time horizon, Liao told a press conference.
Fiscal spending should be further optimized, with a greater focus on investing in people and boosting domestic consumption, he said.
China’s leaders pledged at July’s Politburo meeting to support the slowing economy by accelerating fiscal spending on already-budgeted infrastructure projects for the remainder of the year, rather than planning major new stimulus measures.
The central bank said earlier this month it would maintain an appropriately loose monetary stance and roll out practical, effective measures as needed, but stopped short of signaling explicit cuts to policy rates or banks’ reserve-requirement ratio.
Liao said China would deepen fiscal and tax reforms, improve the budget management system, and build a clearer framework for central-local fiscal relations, with more clearly defined responsibilities and more balanced regional development.
Preventing the illegal accumulation of new hidden local government debt must remain an “iron discipline”, while fiscal risks in key areas should be steadily reduced, he added.
