'China should control budget deficit ratio'

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 13, 2017 06:00 am

BEIJING China, which has left its 2017 budget deficit target unchanged from last year's goal, should moderately control its budget deficit ratio, vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao said yesterday.

China has maintained a budget deficit target of 3 per cent of gross domestic product for this year, underlining its focus on debt reduction and reform.

"We came up with the 3 per cent deficit ratio after a process of careful assessment," Mr Zhu said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament.

"We should moderately control the deficit ratio."

The deficit target has been set at 2.38 trillion yuan (S$486.64 billion), compared with 2.18 trillion budgeted a year earlier.

That followed official data showing GDP grew 6.7 per cent last year.