Finance minister: China's fiscal policy preparedness to tackle uncertainties

China has sufficient fiscal policy tools and ample flexibility to effectively respond to potential domestic and external uncertainties, Minister of Finance Lan Foan said at a news conference on Thursday.

China has opted for a more proactive fiscal policy this year, aimed at achieving annual targets and strengthening the drivers of medium and long-term development, Lan said during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

China has set the deficit-to-GDP ratio at around 4 percent and the deficit scale at 5.66 trillion yuan ($781.6 billion) – a 1.6 trillion yuan increase from the previous year, Lan said, stressing that the highest deficit level in recent years will allow the country to deploy stronger countercyclical adjustments.

The country will issue 1.3 trillion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support major national projects, as well as the large-scale renewal of equipment and the trade-in of consumer goods, Lan added.

The central government has also increased its transfer payments to localities by 8.4 percent year-on-year, reaching a total of 10.34 trillion yuan this year, Lan said.

Lan highlighted that this year's focus on increasing general-purpose funds will empower local governments to have greater autonomy and flexibility in managing their financial resources, Lan added.