China's fiscal revenue, expenditure see steady growth

BEIJING - China's fiscal revenue and expenditure both registered steady growth in the first three quarters of this year on the back of strong economic growth.

Fiscal revenue rose 9.7 percent year on year to 13.41 trillion yuan ($2 trillion) in the first nine months, the Ministry of Finance said Monday in a report.

The growth is made up of revenue from tax income, which expanded 12.1 percent to 11.31 trillion yuan.

In the same period, fiscal expenditure rose 11.4 percent to 15.19 trillion yuan, with central and local governments implementing the budget expenditure faster than the same period of last year.

"The steady economic growth with sound momentum laid a solid foundation for strong fiscal revenue and expenditure growth," the report said.

China's GDP grew 6.9 percent in Q2, flat with Q1 and above the government's annual target of around 6.5 percent. The country will release Q3 economic figures on Thursday.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index for September came in at 52.4, the highest level since May 2012.

China has pledged a more proactive and effective fiscal policy in 2017, with the fiscal deficit set at 3 percent of its GDP, or 2.38 trillion yuan, up 200 billion yuan from 2016.

In September alone, fiscal revenue rose 9.2 percent and expenditure increased 1.7 percent.