China Fiscal Spending Up 1.3% in Jan-Jul

China's general public budget expenditure increased 1% year-on-year to CNY 21.02 trillion in the first nine months of 2026, slowing from a rise of 1.2% in the first eight months and 3.1% in the same period of 2025. Central government expenditure climbed 5.8% to CNY 3.28 trillion, while local government spending increased 0.2% to CNY 17.74 trillion, indicating that fiscal support continued to be led by the central government. Among major spending categories, healthcare recorded the strongest growth, advancing 7.7%, followed by social security and employment (+5.2%), highlighting the country's ongoing policy efforts to improve people's livelihoods. Meanwhile, fiscal revenue grew 5.1% year-on-year to CNY 17.23 trillion, following a gain of 5.7% in the January–August period. During January–September, tax revenue grew 6.1%, while non-tax revenue advanced 1.2%.

China's general public budget expenditure increased 1.2% year-on-year to CNY 18.15 trillion in the first eight months of 2026. Central government expenditure rose 6% to CNY 2.82 trillion, while local government spending increased 0.3% to CNY 15.33 trillion, indicating that fiscal support continued to be led by the central government. Among major spending categories, healthcare recorded the strongest growth, rising 9.2%, followed by social security and employment (+6.5%), debt interest payments (+5.4%), science and technology (+2.2%), and education (+0.7%). Meanwhile, expenditure declined on energy conservation and environmental protection (-12.3%), agriculture, forestry and water conservancy (-6%), culture, tourism, sports and media (-7.2%), transportation (-2.9%), and urban and rural communities (-3%).

China's general public budget expenditure increased 1.3% year-on-year to CNY 16.29 trillion in the first seven months of 2026. Central government expenditure rose 6.2% to CNY 2.48 trillion, while local government spending increased 0.5% to CNY 13.81 trillion, indicating that fiscal support continued to be led by the central government. Among major spending categories, healthcare recorded the strongest growth, rising 9.8%, followed by social security and employment (+7%), debt interest payments (+5.2%), science and technology (+1.5%), and education (+0.7%). Meanwhile, expenditure declined on energy conservation and environmental protection (-11.9%), agriculture, forestry and water conservancy (-6.8%), culture, tourism, sports and media (-6.9%), transportation (-2.5%), and urban and rural communities (-2.9%).