The Zhitong Finance App learned that on October 23, the Ministry of Finance held a press conference on fiscal revenue and expenditure for the first three quarters of 2026 to introduce the fiscal balance for the first three quarters and answer questions from reporters. Zhao Zeyong, deputy director of the Department of Debt Management, mentioned that in January-September, the country issued a total of 189.7 billion yuan of special bonds to replace existing hidden debts, completing 95% of the annual limit of 2 trillion yuan. So far, the issuance progress of the 6 trillion yuan hidden debt replacement limit has reached 98.3%. The implementation of the replacement policy has brought “timely rain” to prevent and resolve local government debt risks. Not only has it greatly reduced debt interest expenses, but it has also freed up more financial resources for the “Three Guarantees” and undertakings in urgent need of development.
Li Nan, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance, mentioned that the package of policies anchors the goal of expanding domestic demand, using financial resources to drive financial resources and financial channels to exert a multiplier effect, focusing on stimulating private investment, promoting residents' consumption, improving the quality and efficiency of financial services in the real economy, and accelerating the formation of a virtuous cycle of collaboration between investment and consumption. In the first three quarters, the cumulative benefits of private investment and consumer consumption exceeded 2 trillion yuan. On the investment side, it not only promotes quality transformation in traditional fields such as transportation, water conservancy, and agriculture, but also helps expand production and upgrade in emerging industries such as high-end equipment, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence. On the consumer side, various consumption scenarios are embedded, the supply of high-quality services is enriched, the consumer burden is reduced, and a collaborative situation of “national interest rates, financial support, and merchant discounts” has been formed. Consumers generally benefit.
Zhao Zeyong, deputy director of the Department of Debt Management, explained that in recent years, according to the authorization of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and with the approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance issued new local government debt limits for the next year in the fourth quarter of every year within 60% of the new local government debt limit that year. Judging from the implementation situation, issuing some additional quotas in advance in accordance with the law can speed up the issuance and use of new bonds, strongly guarantee the capital requirements for major projects in key areas, support the expansion of effective investment, and promote the precise development of more active fiscal policies.
The transcript is as follows:
Transcript of the press conference on fiscal revenue and expenditure for the first three quarters of 2026
Gao Feng: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Ministry of Finance's press conference on fiscal revenue and expenditure for the first three quarters of 2026.
Today, we are happy to invite Mr. Ma Hongbing, Deputy Director of the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance; Mr. Tang Zaifu, Deputy Director of the Budget Department; Mr. Li Nan, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance; and Mr. Zhao Zeyong, Deputy Director of the Department of Debt Management. Ask them to brief everyone about the situation and answer questions.
Next, let's first ask Mr. Ma Hongbing to introduce the fiscal balance for the first three quarters of 2026.
Ma Hongbing, Deputy Director of the Treasury
Ma Hongbing: Thank you, host. Hello media friends. As usual, I will first brief you on the fiscal balance for the first three quarters of 2026.
The first is the general public budget revenue and expenditure situation. In terms of revenue, in the first three quarters, the national general public budget revenue was 17229.2 billion yuan, an increase of 5.1% over the previous year. Among them, the country's tax revenue was 14070.6 billion yuan, up 6.1% year on year; non-tax revenue was 3158.6 billion yuan, up 1.2% year on year. Looking at the central government and local authorities, the central government's general public budget revenue was 766.9.9 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3% over the previous year; local general public budget revenue at this level was 955.93 billion yuan, an increase of 2.7% over the previous year.
The main tax revenue items are as follows: Domestic value-added tax of 5541.6 billion yuan, an increase of 6% over the previous year. Domestic consumption tax was 124.2 billion yuan, down 4.1% year on year. Corporate income tax was 348.3.2 billion yuan, an increase of 7.1% over the previous year. Personal income tax was 1346.4 billion yuan, an increase of 14.1% over the previous year. Value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods amounted to 1517.1 billion yuan, an increase of 12.7% over the previous year. Value-added tax and consumption tax were refunded on export goods of 1808.7 billion yuan, an increase of 106.9 billion yuan over the same period last year, an increase of 6.3%.
In terms of expenditure, in the first three quarters, the national general public budget spent 21019.9 billion yuan, an increase of 1% over the previous year. Looking at the central government and local authorities, the central government's general public budget spent 3282 billion yuan at this level, an increase of 5.8% over the previous year; the local general public budget spent 17737.9 billion yuan, an increase of 0.2% over the previous year.
The second is the budget revenue and expenditure situation of government funds. In terms of revenue, in the first three quarters, the national government fund budget revenue was 2501 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18.6%. Looking at the central government and local authorities, the budget revenue of central government funds was 368.2 billion yuan, up 12.4% year on year; local government fund budget revenue was 213.28 billion yuan, down 22.3% year on year. Among them, revenue from state-owned land use rights concessions was 16087 billion yuan, down 27.9% year on year.
In terms of expenditure, in the first three quarters, the national government fund budget spent 6275.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.2%. Looking at the central government and local authorities, the central government fund budget spent 369.2 billion yuan at this level, down 54.4% from the previous year. The main thing is that the first half of last year disbursed 500 billion yuan of special treasury bond funds to inject capital into large state-owned commercial banks, which raised the base. The 300 billion yuan plan scheduled for this year will be disbursed in the fourth quarter. Local government fund budget expenditure was 590.62 billion yuan, down 11.6% year on year. Among them, expenditure related to revenue from state-owned land use rights concessions was 2556.5 billion yuan, down 18.5% year on year.
Thank you.
Gao Feng: Thank you, Mr. Ma Hongbing, for his introduction. Let's move on to the questioning section. Reporters' friends are asked to inform their news agency before asking questions.
21st Century Economic Report Reporter: How was the fiscal balance for the first three quarters? What characteristics does it present?
Ma Hongbing: Thank you for your question.
Since this year, financial departments at all levels have made every effort to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, promote more active fiscal policies to improve efficiency, give full play to the effectiveness of stock policies, plan and introduce incremental policies in a timely manner, further promote scientific financial management, continuously improve the efficiency of the use of financial resources, and provide strong guarantees for the completion of economic and social development goals throughout the year. On this basis, fiscal operations are generally stable, and fiscal revenue and expenditure are characterized by the following five aspects:
The first characteristic is a steady increase in fiscal revenue. In the first three quarters, the country's general public budget revenue was 17.23 trillion yuan, up 5.1% year on year. The increase was 0.4 percentage points higher than in the first half of the year. Mainly, China's economy was running smoothly and continued its upward trend. At the same time, factors such as rising prices, active stock markets, and strong foreign trade growth also strongly supported fiscal revenue growth.
The second characteristic is an increase in tax revenue growth. In the first three quarters, the country's tax revenue was 14.07 trillion yuan, up 6.1% year on year, an increase of 0.8 percentage points over the first half of the year. In terms of tax classification, domestic value-added tax increased by 6%, mainly driven by continued growth in industry and services and rising ex-factory prices for industrial producers; value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods increased by 12.7%, mainly due to a relatively rapid increase in foreign trade imports; and a 7.1% increase in corporate income tax, mainly an increase in corporate profits.
The third characteristic is the decline in non-tax revenue growth. In the first three quarters, the country's non-tax revenue was 3.16 trillion yuan, up 1.2% year on year, down 1.1 percentage points from the first half of the year. Among them, revenue from paid use of state-owned resources (assets) increased by 1.5%, mainly income from mining rights concessions, etc.; revenue from administrative fees fell by 1.6%, mainly from the fall semester of last year, when public kindergartens were exempted from paying childcare and education fees for the first year of kindergarten.
The fourth characteristic is the general increase in general public budget revenue in various regions. In the first three quarters, local general public budget revenue at this level was 9.56 trillion yuan, up 2.7% year on year, the same increase as in the first half of the year. Looking at the subregions, income in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions all continued to grow. Revenue increased in 28 of the 31 provinces.
The fifth characteristic is that expenses related to investing in people are better protected. Financial departments at all levels earnestly implement more active fiscal policies, maintain necessary expenditure levels, and guarantee spending in key areas. In the first three quarters, the national general public budget spent 21.02 trillion yuan, an increase of 1% over the previous year. Among the country's main expenditure areas, health expenditure increased by 7.7%, mainly an increase in childcare allowances; a 5.2% increase in social security and employment expenses; a 3.1% increase in housing security expenditure; a 3% increase in science and technology expenditure; and an increase of 1.1% in education expenditure.
Thank you.
Securities Times Reporter: At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Finance took the lead in introducing a package of policies for fiscal and financial collaboration to promote domestic demand, and launched optimization and reinforcement measures in August. How effective are the implementation of the policies, and what are the next steps? Also, how is the interest rate discount policy for residential home purchase loans introduced at the end of September progressing?
Li Nan, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance
Li Nan: Thank you for your question. According to the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the establishment of a fiscal and financial coordination policy tool to promote domestic demand this year is an important innovative initiative in the field of macro-control. Since the introduction of a package of policies at the beginning of the year, we have continued to follow up, monitor, dynamically optimize and improve, and further strengthened efficiency in August. Judging from implementation, policies such as loan interest rates for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, loan interest rates for equipment renewal loans, interest rate discounts for service industry operators, interest rate discounts on personal consumption loans, and special guarantee plans for private investment in the first three quarters supported the issuance of more than 28 trillion yuan of new credit in related fields, an increase of 3.1% over the previous year; in total, they benefited 8.36 million enterprises and 147 million residents. In the context of the transformation of old and new kinetic energy and the restructuring of financing, credit investment supported by a package of policies has bucked the trend, driving the flow of more social resources to key areas of expanding domestic demand, and the effects of the policy are gradually showing. Specifically, it is reflected in three aspects:
The first is the steady expansion of the scope of benefits. In the process of implementing the package policy, we closely follow market needs, dynamically expand the scope of support, and better match business operations and consumer financing needs. Taking loan interest rates for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as an example, the initial focus of the policy was on supporting fixed asset loans. In order to meet the daily operating turnover needs of enterprises, working capital loans were included in the scope of support starting in August, and the policy effects were released at an accelerated pace. Within two months, it supported the issuance of more than 1.8 trillion yuan of new working capital loans, benefiting more than 500,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and providing support for stable operation and stable jobs. In terms of interest rate discounts on personal consumption loans, credit card bill installments and special credit card installments have been included in the scope of support this year, covering everyday consumption scenarios such as car purchases, home improvement, and home appliance purchases. All eligible installment purchases can enjoy interest rate discounts according to regulations.
Second, the level of support continues to increase. The package policy uses tools such as loan interest rates, financing guarantees, and risk compensation in an integrated manner to not only lower the financing threshold, but also reduce financing costs, and target accurate efforts. For example, with interest rate discounts on loans from service sector operators, the loan amount for single households was raised from 10 million yuan at the beginning of the year to 20 million yuan, and the policy “quenches thirst.” In the first three quarters, new loans were issued about 8.8 trillion yuan to support the fields of catering and lodging, health and pension, cultural tourism and sports, and retail services. Among them, after increased implementation in August, the average monthly new loans issued in related fields increased by about 30% month-on-month. Another example is the special guarantee plan for private investment introduced at the beginning of the year, which drastically raised the credit guarantee amount, risk sharing ratio, and compensation limit, and reduced reguarantee fees by half; the central financial administration simultaneously supported support policies such as risk compensation and fee reduction subsidies. In the first three quarters, it helped more than 90,000 micro, small and medium-sized private enterprises lower the financing threshold. During implementation, the central financial administration injected 5 billion yuan into the National Finance Guarantee Fund to guide the fund to disburse funds to provincial guarantee agencies through equity investment, further consolidating the capital strength of the guarantee system and helping more business entities obtain financing support.
Third, comprehensive efficacy continues to be released. The package of policies anchors the goal of expanding domestic demand, using financial resources to drive financial resources and financial channels to exert a multiplier effect, focus on stimulating private investment, promote consumer consumption, improve the quality and efficiency of financial services in the real economy, and accelerate the formation of a virtuous cycle of collaboration between investment and consumption. In the first three quarters, the cumulative benefits of private investment and consumer consumption exceeded 2 trillion yuan. On the investment side, it not only promotes quality transformation in traditional fields such as transportation, water conservancy, and agriculture, but also helps expand production and upgrade in emerging industries such as high-end equipment, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence. On the consumer side, various consumption scenarios are embedded, the supply of high-quality services is enriched, the consumer burden is reduced, and a collaborative situation of “national interest rates, financial support, and merchant discounts” has been formed. Consumers generally benefit.
In the next step, we will continue to do a good job in three areas. The first is to keep an eye on the operation situation. Supervise and guide local authorities and management agencies to simplify operation procedures, reduce processing time limits, innovate products and services, and improve the quality and efficiency of policy implementation. The second is to optimize the working mechanism. Deepen departmental collaboration, central-local integration, and government-enterprise linkage, clarify the chain of responsibility, promote information sharing, and achieve complementary advantages, smooth connection, and strong execution. The third is to make policy reserves. Keep abreast of key aspects such as residents' consumption, private investment, and optimization of supply and demand structures, strengthen forward-looking research and planning, enrich the policy toolbox, and promote the normal long-term effectiveness of financial linkage.
Just now, you also mentioned the interest rate discount policy for residents' home purchase loans. This is the first time that the central government has implemented interest rates on commercial personal housing loans. It is also a useful exploration and practice of financial collaboration tools to protect and improve people's livelihood in the housing sector. According to the unified deployment, the policy was released on September 29 and implemented nationwide from October 1. The implementation period is tentatively set for 1 year. This policy focuses on supporting new citizens such as workers entering the city, young people such as newly employed college students, and groups in need, such as urban wage earners, to buy new small to medium sized and lower-priced first housing units. New and second-hand housing are all included in the scope of support. Interest rate support is provided for eligible housing loans for a period of no more than 5 years, reducing the burden of mortgage interest, and helping more people to live comfortably. There is no upper limit on the total amount of interest rate discount funds; settlement is based on facts, and all allowances should be paid.
After the policy was issued, we relied on a package of policy working mechanisms to immediately guide all regions to speed up implementation, fully implement exemption and enjoy, and deduct interest rate discount funds on a monthly basis. Judging from the operating situation, the policy has been implemented smoothly, and the results are beginning to show. According to reports from the managing bank, during this period, many families viewed houses, bought houses, and applied for loans. It is widely believed that the interest rate discount policy has actually reduced the burden of monthly payments, and there is more room for daily expenses, children's education, etc. In the future, we will organize all parties to answer the same questions together, strengthen coordination, strengthen publicity and interpretation, vigorously and effectively promote policy implementation, ensure that policy dividends are accurate, direct and fully enjoyed, and effectively do good deeds.
Thank you!
Xinhua News Agency Reporter: Can you tell me about the issuance and use of local government special bonds since this year? In recent years, every year, the Ministry of Finance has issued part of the amount of new local government bonds for the next year ahead of schedule. Will part of the 2027 quota be issued in advance this year?
Zhao Zeyong, Deputy Director of the Debt Management Department
Zhao Zeyong: Thank you for your question.
First, let me introduce the issuance and use of local government special bonds. Since this year, the Ministry of Finance has guided all regions to further strengthen the management of special bonds, speed up the issuance and use of special bonds, and actively exert policy effectiveness. The main features are:
First, the issuance of new bonds has been steadily accelerating. From January to September, a total of 356.8 billion yuan of additional special bonds were issued nationwide, with an issuance schedule of 81%. Of these, 633.9 billion yuan was issued in September, an increase of 214.8 billion yuan over the same period last year, and issuance accelerated markedly. The 14 “self-audit and spontaneous” pilot regions are more closely linked to project reserves and bond issuance. From January to September, 278.7 billion yuan was issued, accounting for 76% of the national issuance amount.
Second, use is more focused. All regions focus on local development strategies and advantageous industries, prioritize funding requirements for projects under construction and renewal, and further optimize the overall coordination of capital and projects, focusing on infrastructure and livelihood projects such as municipal and industrial parks, transportation, affordable housing projects, and urban renewal, effectively exploiting the effectiveness of special debt policies to benefit people's livelihood, promote investment, and make up for shortcomings.
Third, hidden debt swaps have had remarkable results. In January-September, the country issued a total of 189.7 billion yuan of special bonds to replace hidden existing debt, completing 95% of the annual limit of 2 trillion yuan. So far, the issuance progress of the 6 trillion yuan hidden debt replacement limit has reached 98.3%. The implementation of the replacement policy has brought “timely rain” to prevent and resolve local government debt risks. Not only has it greatly reduced debt interest expenses, but it has also freed up more financial resources for the “Three Guarantees” and undertakings in urgent need of development.
In the next step, we will continue to step up our efforts and take targeted measures to ensure the completion of the target tasks for the whole year.
Next, I will introduce the situation relating to the early issuance of some additional local government debt limits for 2027.
In recent years, according to the authorization of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and with the approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance issued new local government debt limits for the next year ahead of schedule within 60% of the new local government debt limit added in that year in the fourth quarter of every year. Judging from the implementation situation, issuing some additional quotas in advance in accordance with the law can speed up the issuance and use of new bonds, strongly guarantee the capital requirements for major projects in key areas, support the expansion of effective investment, and promote the precise development of more active fiscal policies.
In the next step, the Ministry of Finance will quickly complete the task of issuing some of the new local government debt limits in 2027 in advance, guide all regions to plan and prepare early, and quickly implement relevant procedures such as budget preparation to ensure that bond issuance starts as early as January next year.
Thank you.
People's Daily Overseas Reporter: The Ministry of Finance has organized and carried out local financial science management pilots in some provinces for more than a year. May I ask, how are the financial science management pilots progressing and effective up to now?
Tang Zaifu, Deputy Director of the Budget Department
Tang Zaifu: Thank you for your interest in the Financial Science Management Pilot.
The “Proposal” adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the outline of the “15th Five-Year Plan” for national economic and social development all proposed strengthening scientific financial management. This is an important task assigned to the financial department by the Party Central Committee and the State Council. It is a practical requirement for managing and making good use of financial resources. It is also an inevitable requirement for improving financial and political efficiency and providing strong services to guarantee the Chinese modernization drive. The Party Group of the Ministry of Finance attached great importance to this work. It launched a pilot project in early 2025 to organize 12 provinces to work together to explore new paths of financial science management around 11 tasks, including strengthening financial resources and budget coordination and deepening zero-based budget reform. Over the past year, the central financial administration has based on the overall situation, carefully deployed, and strengthened follow-up and guidance; the Party committees and governments of each pilot province have attached great importance to it, promoted it from a high level, actively explored according to local conditions, and paid close attention to task implementation; relevant departments have broken down barriers and strongly supported each other and left and right. Overall, the pilot work has progressed steadily, and various tasks have achieved positive results. Here is a brief introduction to the three aspects of revenue, expenditure, and management.
In terms of revenue, financial resources and the ability to coordinate budgets have been further strengthened, and more financial resources have been concentrated to handle important national issues. In the pilot work, all provinces insisted on “one plate” of revenue, deepened the government's full-caliber revenue budget management, and integrated “small money” scattered and idle by different departments and levels into “big money” that can be used in an integrated manner to better guarantee expenditure in key areas. For example, Zhejiang Province has increased its efforts to transfer government fund budgets and state-owned capital operating budgets to the general public budget. In 2025, it will allocate 206.4 billion yuan, accounting for 16.5% of the general public budget expenditure, and concentrate more financial resources to guarantee and improve people's livelihood. Another example is that Shaanxi Province has carried out comprehensive revitalization of state-owned capital stocks in provincial administrative institutions. In 2026, it has already revitalized 5.69 billion yuan to make better use of the benefits of existing capital.
On the expenditure side, zero-based budget reform has been advanced in depth, and the expenditure structure has been further optimized. Fully implement zero-based budget reform requirements. Budget arrangements break down base dependency, strengthen prior performance evaluation and budget review, arrange expenses reasonably according to financial conditions and actual needs, strictly implement the requirements of the Party and government organs to get used to an excessively tight schedule, and strongly promote the establishment of a budget allocation mechanism that must be insured, the province is deficient, is under pressure, and focuses on performance, and the performance of the use of financial resources has steadily improved. For example, Anhui Province promoted the merger and integration of the same type of funds originally scattered across 110 budget departments into 11 sectors, and the province cleared up nearly 7,000 expenditure policies of various types. Shandong Province innovatively uses the “345” zero-based budget method to effectively break the fixed pattern of spending by making three judgments (whether to take money, how to get money), grasp the four principles (should be exhaustive, do your best, coordinate security, and act within your means), and establish five lists (the “Three Guarantees” and debt service, industrial development, key construction, and government operation) to effectively break the fixed pattern of spending and use precious funds on the “blade”. The 2026 provincial budget preparation abolished and eliminated 53 inefficient and ineffective policies, and reduced capital by 3.2 billion yuan.
In terms of management, a horizontal to vertical financial management system is being built at an accelerated pace, and efforts are being made to achieve closed-loop supervision of financial resources. Persist in piloting, summarizing, and improving, promptly solidify the good experiences and good practices discovered in the pilot into long-term institutional methods, and continuously improve the financial management chain. Horizontally, from the financial department to the competent department to the fund user unit, push all parties to perform their duties with due diligence and responsibility; vertically, from the central government to the local authorities, go up and down, hierarchical responsibility, and get to the end, deepening penetrating supervision of the entire financial and financial chain. For example, Guangdong Province has established a new mechanism for township financial management by improving the overall system mechanism, standardizing account management, implementing penetrating supervision, and carrying out centralized rectification, etc., to continuously improve the level of scientific management of township finance.
What needs to be introduced in particular is that not only the 12 pilot provinces, but all other non-pilot provinces have also taken the initiative to follow up and deepen reforms and exploration in accordance with the relevant requirements of the pilot work, taking into account local reality, forming a vivid situation of learning to catch up and go hand in hand, and has accumulated quite a few good experiences and practices.
Next, in accordance with the spirit of the Financial Science Management Pilot Symposium held in Hefei, Anhui on August 26 this year and the Party Group deployment requirements of the Ministry of Finance, we will insist on making good use of the empirical lessons formed in the pilot, place more emphasis on strengthening coordination, place more emphasis on improving efficiency, place more emphasis on standardized operation, place more emphasis on safety and sustainability, and place more emphasis on system integration to promote the development of financial science management from the point and depth of financial science management to achieve full coverage, full chain connection, and all-round efforts to carry out financial science management from the source of budget arrangement to the end of the use of funds, from the financial department to the grassroots level All aspects of the budget unit process continuously improve the level of systematization, refinement, standardization and legalization of financial management, providing strong support for modernizing the country's governance system and governance capacity.
Thank you.
China Financial News Reporter: Since this year, agricultural production in parts of China has been affected by natural disasters. According to information, agricultural insurance has played an important role in disaster relief and loss mitigation, etc. Can you introduce the relevant work results and next work considerations?
Li Nan: Thank you for your question. Our country has a large area. Extreme weather has been frequent in recent years. Disasters have been prominent in some regions this year, which has had an adverse impact on agricultural production. As a “stabilizer” and “safety net” for agricultural production, agricultural insurance is an important policy tool to benefit farmers. It is directly related to farmers' income, stable food production, and national food security. The Party Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to agricultural insurance, and Central Committee Document No. 1 made arrangements for 23 consecutive years. The Ministry of Finance has given full play to its functional role, continuously increased support, gradually broadened the scope of coverage, raised security standards, and improved institutional mechanisms. The results of agricultural insurance in protecting and benefiting farmers continued to show results.
The first is to raise bids and expand the market, and stabilize expectations for growing food. Nearly 80% of China's agricultural insurance premiums are subsidized from the financial sector, effectively reducing farmers' insurance burden and ensuring timely payment after a disaster. After years of progress, the full cost and planting income insurance policy for rice, wheat, corn, and soybeans has achieved full national coverage; the full cost of sugar cane and planting income insurance, and comprehensive natural rubber insurance. The policy basically covers major production areas. The coverage is significantly higher than traditional physical and chemical cost insurance, effectively relieving farmers' worries about growing food. In the past five years, the average coverage level of the country's top three staple food insurance mu has been raised from about 400 yuan to nearly 1,000 yuan, and the average coverage level of soybean insurance has been raised from about 250 yuan to nearly 600 yuan, further stabilizing farmers' confidence in production.
The second is timely payment to help the disaster area resume production. Since this year, many places have experienced disasters such as torrential rains, floods, and typhoons, and the national agricultural insurance has paid more than 100 billion yuan. In particular, during the “seven down to eight” flood control critical period, about 30 billion yuan was paid to affected farmers to effectively deal with the impact of disasters such as typhoons “Bawe,” “Mesak,” and “White Dolphin,” and fully support disaster relief and the resumption of production. A major grain-producing county on the eastern coast was hit by a typhoon in August of this year. A large area of rice was flooded and overturned. A large local grower's 1,670 mu of early rice was severely damaged. After the farmers reported the case, the insurance agency quickly organized an investigation and paid about 1.2 million yuan on the day the damage was determined to support the farmers in draining and harvesting and restoring farmland.
The third is to consolidate support and protect food security. We guide all regions to make good use of agricultural insurance policy tools, adapt to the development needs of various agricultural operators, help modernize agriculture, and strongly support the stabilization of China's grain production at around 1.4 trillion kg. Since this year, the national agricultural insurance premium scale has exceeded 140 billion yuan, providing a total of 4.4 trillion yuan in risk protection for 105 million sub-farmers. It is estimated that the annual premium scale will stabilize at more than 150 billion yuan, provide risk protection of more than 5 trillion yuan, continue to consolidate the agricultural production guarantee foundation, and build a strong food security barrier.
In order to promote the quality and efficiency of agricultural insurance, on September 8, we, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the General Administration of Financial Supervision, and the State Forestry and Grass Administration issued the “Implementation Plan on Accelerating the High-Quality Development of Agricultural Insurance”, clarifying development goals for the next phase, setting quantitative indicators such as agricultural insurance depth, density, and technology investment intensity, and proposing a series of measures in product innovation and technology application to further stabilize farmers' income, enhance agricultural production capacity, and provide better services to guarantee the country's food security.
In the next step, we will work with relevant departments to implement the plan in accordance with the principles of government guidance, market operation, voluntarism, and collaborative promotion. By optimizing underwriting claims management, enriching the supply of insurance products, strengthening the application of information technology, strengthening data exchange and sharing, improving the dynamic pricing mechanism, improving the risk distribution system, and speeding up the construction of a multi-level agricultural insurance system that meets farmers' risk protection needs and adapts to modern agricultural development and the division of labor between central and local authorities, a win-win pattern with efficient subsidies, guaranteed industries, affordable benefits for farmers, and sustainable institutions are realized.
Thank you.
CCTV Finance Channel Reporter: Recently, the Ministry of Finance arranged to use local government debt balance limits of 550 billion yuan to improve the ability of counties and districts to guarantee general public budgets and support local expansion of effective investment. What is the current progress?
Zhao Zeyong: Thank you for your question. In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, taking into account the current financial and economic situation, with the approval of the State Council, it was recently arranged to use a local government debt balance limit of 550 billion yuan to improve the general public budget guarantee capacity of counties and districts and support local expansion of effective investment. The use of balance limits in this arrangement has three characteristics:
The first is to increase the intensity. The amount of local government debt balance limits scheduled to be used this year is 550 billion yuan, an increase of 50 billion yuan over last year and an increase of 150 billion yuan over the previous year. The intensity has been further strengthened, fully reflecting the more active, precise and vigorous policy orientation of active fiscal policies.
Second, the direction is clear. Of the 550 billion yuan local government debt balance limit, arrangements are made to use a general debt balance limit of 300 billion yuan, all of which can be used by counties and districts, and cannot be withheld by provinces and cities; arrangements are made to use a special debt balance limit of 250 billion yuan, which is allocated to regions with actual project capital requirements in the fourth quarter of this year, and is skewed towards major economic provinces to support priority guarantee of funding requirements for projects under construction. It is indeed necessary to focus on key areas such as the “Six Zhang Network” construction to effectively drive government investment.
Third, the requirements are more stringent. On the one hand, local authorities are required to better connect project reserves and bond issuance, speed up the pace of issuance, and smooth the disbursement chain. Savings limits for project construction should be issued and used before the end of this year, so as to form a physical workload as soon as possible, and promote early implementation of policies and early results. On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance will strengthen the guidance and supervision of the issuance and use of balance limits, strictly prohibit illegal acts such as crowding out and misappropriation and misreporting the progress of expenses, and ensure the efficient and standardized use of funds.
Judging from the implementation of the policy, after the Ministry of Finance issued balance limits, all regions acted swiftly to keep abreast of policy requirements, quickly break them down and issue them, and speed up various preliminary tasks. Recently, Guangdong and Sichuan respectively revealed that they plan to use balance limits to issue 36.1 billion yuan and 10 billion yuan of special bonds next week for project construction in key areas. The relevant provinces will continue to issue them in the future, and the effects of the policy will gradually become apparent.
Thank you.
Gao Feng: This concludes today's press conference. Thank you all!
This article was edited by the Ministry of Finance, Zhitong Finance Editor: Chen Wenfang.