Budget of China

Main article: Economy of China

2025: Target budget deficit increases to 4% of GDP

In March 2025, China raised its target budget deficit for 2025 to 4% of GDP - for the first time this figure is initially laid above the traditional threshold of 3%.

However, the actual deficit will be higher: Beijing uses additional extra-budgetary borrowing mechanisms - the issuance of special bonds, which are not formally taken into account in the overall budget deficit, but significantly increase government spending.

In 2025, the authorities will attract about 8 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) through ultra-long and special bonds of local authorities. This will bring the total budget deficit to 10% of GDP, which will be a record level.

2023: Rising budget deficit amid slowing economy

In 2023, a very significant degradation of the budget continues in China, which has a record deficit of an average of 7.6% of GDP for the period 2020-2023 compared to 3% for the period from the beginning of 2013 to 2019, and this is against the background of a significant slowdown in the economy.

2022: Record 8.96 trillion yuan budget deficit

China's budget deficit widened to a record high of 8.96 trillion yuan in 2022, according to Finance Ministry data. The deficit exceeded the previous record of 8.72 trillion yuan in 2020, when the economy was hit by the first outbreak of Covid-19, and was 51% higher than in 2021.

Earlier it was reported that the budget deficit in China is approaching a record mark of $1 trillion amid a slowdown in growth. The deficit in the first nine months of 2022 is almost three times larger than in 2021. It grew due to falling land sales, tax breaks and other falling government revenues.

See also

• Budget of Russia