Treasury bonds aim to spur investment, consumption

China aims to spur investment and consumption at the moment while consolidating stronger footing for long-term high-quality development through issuing the ultra-long special treasury bonds as the Government Work Report has proposed, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, made the remarks at a media conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions, the annual meetings of the nation's top legislative and political advisory bodies.

Starting this year and over each of the next several years, ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued, and funds raised will be used to implement major national strategies and build up security capacity in key areas. One trillion yuan ($140 billion) of such bonds will be issued in 2024, according to the Government Work Report, which was delivered on Tuesday at the opening of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

With preliminary considerations, the authorities have decided the funds will mainly support areas including scientific and technological innovation, integrated urban-rural development, coordinated regional development, food and energy security, and the high-quality development of the population, Zheng said.

That is because, he added, potential funding demand for these areas is huge, yet it is difficult to meet such demand with existing funding channels and investments into those areas also needs to take a significant amount of time to generate returns. 

He said the NDRC is working with relevant parties to accelerate the formation of a specific action plan for the issuance of the bonds, which will be implemented after approval. 

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn