China's Finance Minister Lan Fo'an has pledged to adopt fiscal policies in an innovative manner to stimulate domestic consumption and expand productive investment, aiming to strengthen the country's high-quality economic growth. Lan made the remarks at a press briefing held by the State Council Information Office on Friday.   

The finance ministry has actively supported the consumer goods trade-in program, Lan said. By the end of August this year, the government had allocated around 420 billion yuan ($58 billion) in fiscal funds, spurring over 29 trillion yuan in total goods sales. Retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas have surged 24 percent since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

Meanwhile, according to Lan, the ministry issued 1.5 trillion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support major infrastructure projects over the past two years. In the past five years, local governments have been issued 19.4 trillion yuan in special bonds to fund roughly 150,000 projects, while central budget investments of 3.33 trillion yuan have been directed toward transportation, water conservation, and other key infrastructure. Government investment has been effectively mobilizing social investment, helping to address infrastructure gaps and strengthen long-term economic momentum, Lan highlighted.

He also noted that Chinese government debt stood at 68.7 percent of GDP at the end of 2024, but stressed that this debt is largely backed by high-quality assets, keeping overall fiscal risk manageable and under control.

China's fiscal policy will continue to balance risk prevention and growth promotion, retaining ample room for future measures, Lan emphasized. Going forward, the fiscal authorities will maintain policy continuity and stability, enhance flexibility and forward-looking planning, and act proactively to support high-quality economic and social development.