Full text: Report on China's central, local budgets(4)

Use of surplus revenue

In accordance with relevant laws and regulations as well as the relevant resolution of the Fourth Session of the Eleventh NPC, of the 544.6 billion yuan in central government surplus revenue, we disbursed 94.4 billion yuan to increase tax rebates and general transfer payments to local governments, 30 billion yuan to increase education spending, 7.6 billion yuan to increase science and technology spending, 16 billion yuan to increase funding for low-income housing projects, 62.1 billion yuan to increase expenditure on road construction and fuel subsidies for certain people with financial difficulties and some public service industries, 20.7 billion yuan to increase one-off living allowances to poor people, 50 billion yuan to reduce the central government deficit, and 263.8 billion yuan to replenish the central budget stabilization fund for budgetary purposes next year. The State Council has reported on the use of central government surplus revenue in 2011 to the twenty-fourth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh NPC.

(2) Main expenditure items

On the basis of the decisions and arrangements of the central leadership, and following deliberation and approval by the NPC, the central government further increased investment in agriculture, education, medical and health care, social security, employment, low-income housing, culture, science, and technology, thereby ensuring spending on key items.

Education spending reached 324.86 billion yuan, 109.6% of the budgeted figure and an increase of 27.5%. This figure consists of 99.905 billion yuan of central government spending and 224.955 billion yuan in transfer payments to local governments. We spent 10.13 billion yuan to support the development of rural preschool education in the central and western regions and ethnic minority areas. A total of 85.91 billion yuan was used to improve the mechanism for guaranteeing the costs of rural compulsory education. Benchmark public funding per student per year for rural primary and secondary schools was increased by 100 yuan; all of the country's rural compulsory education students were exempted from tuition and miscellaneous fees and supplied with free textbooks; 12.28 million boarding school students from poor families received financial assistance; and 26 million students received subsidies for nutritious meals. We used 18.681 billion yuan to implement the plan for upgrading weak rural schools providing compulsory education. A total of 7.7 billion yuan was disbursed to exempt 29 million urban compulsory education students from tuition and miscellaneous fees and help 11.67 million children of rural migrant workers to receive compulsory education in cities. Altogether 13.398 billion yuan was spent to strengthen vocational education infrastructure and exempt 3.95 million secondary vocational school students who are from families with financial difficulties or studying agriculture-related majors from tuition. We appropriated 31.119 billion yuan to improve the policy system for providing financial aid to students from poor families, which benefited roughly 18.67 million students. We also spent 109.054 billion yuan to support the development of higher education.