China to expand fiscal spending in 2024 to bolster economic growth

China’s Ministry of Finance is set to further study fiscal policies to promote consumption this year, according to an interview released on Thursday. Minister of Finance Lan Fo’an highlighted the focus on improving consumption capacity, optimizing the consumption environment, and cultivating new forms of consumption.

The country’s consumption sector has shown a robust rebound, as evidenced by the impressive performance during the recently concluded three-day New Year holiday. Domestic tourism revenue soared to 79.73 billion yuan ($11.17 billion), more than triple the figures from the same period in 2023.

In addition to stimulating consumption, the Finance Ministry is committed to supporting investment and trade this year. Last year, China issued 3.8 trillion yuan in new special bonds, with over 300 billion yuan allocated for project capital. This is expected to drive social investment by over 1 trillion yuan.

Besides, the Finance Ministry aims to foster a fair and competitive market environment for all businesses, while simultaneously promoting the construction of a unified national market.

Lan emphasized that the Finance Ministry will appropriately expand fiscal spending in 2024 to bolster economic growth, aligning with the central government’s economic policy goals for the year. The central economic work conference held in December emphasized the importance of implementing a proactive fiscal policy, with a strong emphasis on quality and efficiency.