BEIJING\/SHANGHAI, Nov 15 (Reuters) – China will strengthen fiscal policy over the next five years, said the country’s finance minister on Saturday in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Lan Foan said the country will strengthen counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical regulation and set the deficit-to-GDP ratio and scale of government borrowing to suit evolving conditions.<\/p>\n
Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n China will also make use of tools such as the budget, taxation, government bonds and transfer payments, and provide sustained support for economic and social development, Lan said.<\/p>\n Internationally, the external environment is volatile and unstable, and major-country rivalry is becoming more intricate and intense, said Lan, without mentioning any specific countries or China’s trade dispute with the United States.<\/p>\n Support will be increased for areas including the modern industrial system, science and technology, education and social security, said the minister.<\/p>\n Fiscal subsidies will be used to expand consumption of goods and services, Lan said.<\/p>\n China will also make coordinated use of local government special-purpose bonds and ultra-long special treasury bonds while optimising the direction of government investment.<\/p>\n Reporting by Jenny Su in Beijing and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Reporting by Tom Hogue<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n