Unveiling a series of economic and social development goals for 2019, China's annual government work report, delivered on Tuesday by Premier Li Keqiang at the second session of the 13th National People's Congress, reiterated the country's macro policy targets.
China will continue to pursue a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, implement an employment-first policy and strengthen coordination between these policies to keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range, according to the report.
As for proactive fiscal policy, deficit-to-GDP ratio in 2019 is projected at 2.8 percent, a 0.2 percent point increase over that of last year.
The budgetary deficit is projected at 2.76 trillion yuan (411.7 billion U.S. dollars), with a central government deficit of 1.83 trillion yuan and a local government deficit of 0.93 trillion yuan, the report said.
Government expenditure is budgeted at over 23 trillion yuan (3.4 trillion U.S. dollars) , up 6.5 percent year-on-year. The central government's transfer payments to local governments for equalizing access to basic public services will increase by 10.9 percent.
The prudent monetary policy will be eased or tightened to the right degree. Increases in M2 money supply and aggregate financing should be in keeping with nominal GDP growth to keep major indicators within an appropriate range, the report said.
