China's finance ministry vows to step up fiscal spending in 2025

BEIJING -- China's finance ministry vowed to step up fiscal spending and government bond issuance in 2025, providing stronger support to bolster economic stability.

The country will adopt a more proactive fiscal policy next year, and ensure the fiscal policy is continuously forceful and impactful, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an made the remarks during a two-day national fiscal work conference that ended Tuesday.

The fiscal policy stance aligns with the announcements made at the recent tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference. During the conference, policymakers decided to implement a "moderately loose" monetary policy in 2025, a significant departure from the "prudent" policy of the past 14 years.

This comes as China gears up to navigate economic headwinds both at home and abroad, and sustain a steady and robust recovery.

Lan said the country will set a higher deficit-to-GDP ratio in 2025, increase the intensity of fiscal spending, ensure faster deployment of funds, and optimize the structure of fiscal spending, with more focus on improving people's well-being, promoting consumption and sustaining growth momentum.

According to a statement released after the fiscal work conference, the country's key fiscal priorities next year will include boosting domestic demand, building a modernized industrial system, improving people's well-being, supporting urban-rural integrated development, building an ecological civilization, and promoting high-standard opening up.

The country will work continuously to prevent and defuse risks in key sectors and continue to increase transfer payments to local governments, Lan said.

He noted that the country will also step up efforts to contain new increases in local governments' "hidden debts," and move faster to reform and transform local government financing platforms.