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Ministry of Finance defends 'proactive' deficit ratio

By Xin Zhiming | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-03-07 10:25

China's fiscal deficit ratio of 3 percent of GDP is "proactive" and there is no need for concern about any default on debt repayments given China's continually improving economic fundamentals, a top fiscal official declared on Tuesday.

"The ratio is unchanged from that of last year, but the scale expands by about 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) given the increasing GDP this year," minister of finance Xiao Jie said at a news conference on the sidelines of the ongoing legislative and political advisory meetings.

"The scale is adequate for satisfying the demand for tax cuts and investment in major economic areas."

China's debt ratio is low compared with other countries, he said.

Moreover, China's debt is used to make investments that will turn into high-quality assets.

"The Chinese economy is well on track and the long-term trend of expansion remains unchanged," Xiao said. "It serves as the ultimate back-up for debt repayment."

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