January 24, 2013
Translated by Pang Lei

China's national budget deficit is set to increase significantly in 2013 as the central government pursues an expansionary fiscal policy, according to a report in today's National Business Daily.

Domestic Chinese media outlets had earlier reported that the State Council, the equivalent of China's cabinet, had sent a copy of the draft budget to the National People's Congress on Jan 18.

The draft budget puts this years planned budget deficit at 1.2 trillion yuan (approximately $190 billion), with 450 billion yuan covering local government bonds and the remaining 750 billion registered as a deficit on the central government's books.

The report quoted an analyst from Essense Securities (安信证券) estimating that 1.2 trillion yuan would be equivalent to about 2 percent of this years projected GDP of nearly 60 trillion yuan.

On Jan 22, the Ministry of Finance announced that China's national budget had registered a deficit of 850.2 billion in 2012, slightly over the projected deficit of 800 billion yuan that had been set in the 2012 budget.

The final budget will be revealed when the National People's Congress convenes in March.

Links and Sources
National Business Daily: 今年财政赤字预算安排或达1.2万亿