26.04.202622:50:19UTC+00China Fiscal Spending Up 2.6% in Q1

China’s fiscal spending rose 2.6% year-on-year to CNY 7.47 trillion (USD 1.09 trillion) in the first quarter, a sharp acceleration from the 1% increase recorded in the same period of 2025, the finance ministry said on Friday, according to Reuters. The pickup reflects stepped-up government efforts to support economic growth amid heightened global risks linked to the Middle East conflict.

Over the same period, fiscal revenue increased 2.4% to CNY 6.16 trillion. First-quarter fiscal spending represented 24.9% of the full-year budgeted expenditure, the highest share in recent years, a finance ministry official told a media briefing, underscoring authorities’ commitment to front-load spending to help achieve this year’s growth target.

At an agenda-setting meeting last month, Chinese policymakers pledged to maintain a “more proactive” fiscal stance in 2026, promising record levels of public expenditure, government bond issuance, and fiscal transfers to local governments.