Tax & Spend
Xi Steps Up Economic Aid With New Debt Issuance, PBOC Visit
- Fiscal deficit ratio raised to about 3.8% of GDP from 3%
- Rare budget revision comes amid property, local debt woes
This article is for subscribers only.
Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped up support for the world’s second-biggest economy, issuing additional sovereign debt, raising the budget deficit ratio and even making an unprecedented visit to the central bank.
The nation’s legislature approved a plan to raise the fiscal deficit ratio for 2023 to about 3.8% of gross domestic product, the official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday — well above the 3% set in March which the government has generally considered a limit for the nation. The plan includes issuing additional sovereign debt worth 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in the fourth quarter to support disaster relief and construction.