China to implement additional fiscal policies to support Chinese economy

At a press conference on Saturday, Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fuan said that additional fiscal policies will be implemented in the short term to boost China's economy.

The package includes a relatively large one-time increase in the debt ceiling to help local governments cover hidden debt and address debt risks.

The minister added that the business cycle measures include not only policies already under relevant decision-making procedures, but also other policy tools under consideration, such as issuing government bonds and expanding the deficit.

Mr. Lan pointed out that there is still a lot of room for the Chinese central bank to issue debt and increase the deficit.

Regarding the real estate market, he said that various fiscal policies will be implemented to ensure the stability of the real estate sector, including issuing special-purpose local government bonds, special funds and imposing taxes.

Lan said that China will issue special state treasury bonds to support large state-owned commercial banks and replenish their core capital, or Tier 1.

He added that the move aims to enhance banks' resilience to risks and their lending capacity to better contribute to the development of the real economy.