China isn’t fooling around. The government wants economic stimulus and it wants it NOW!
China’s fiscal spending surged 33.2% to 1.25 trillion yuan in April from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported on Thursday. It was a huge jump from the 4.4% increase seen in March. For the first four months, spending rose 26.4% from the same period last year.
“Finance departments have earnestly implemented the pro-active fiscal policy despite slower economic growth and the pressure on fiscal revenues,” the ministry said, according to Reuters.
The economic boost was spurred by the first-quarter’s economic growth slowing down to 7%, a six-year low. With recent data showing the weakness continuing into the second quarter, the government snapped into action.
For the first four months of the year, environmental protection spending leapt 30.5% from the year-ago period, while transportation spending soared 57.8%.
Meanwhile, income tax receipts from manufacturers fell 4.5% in April year over year, while revenues from property companies fell 11.9%, the ministry said. Still overall, fiscal revenues rose 8.2% year-over-year in April, up from 5.8% in March.