今年我国将实行积极的财政政策来对抗疫情冲击

政府工作报告指出，今年积极的财政政策要更加积极有为，财政赤字规模比去年增加1万亿元，并将发行1万亿元抗疫特别国债。专家表示，中国可以灵活使用各种财政和货币政策来对抗疫情的冲击。

A clerk counts cash at a bank in Huaibei, Anhui province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

To counter the economic shocks caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak, China will rely on extensive fiscal measures and maintain a flexible stance on monetary policy, according to signals in the Government Work Report and the annual fiscal budget arrangement.

根据政府工作报告和年度财政预算报告释放出的信号，为了对抗新冠肺炎暴发对经济造成的冲击，中国将借助大量的财政措施并保持灵活的货币政策。

The Government Work Report, delivered by Premier Li Keqiang to the third session of the 13th National People's Congress on Friday, said the government set the deficit-to-GDP ratio at "3.6 percent or higher this year", with the deficit 1 trillion yuan more than last year.

5月22日，李克强总理在第十三届全国人民代表大会第三次会议上做的政府工作报告中指出，政府今年的赤字率“拟按3.6%以上安排”，今年财政赤字规模比去年增加1万亿元。

In addition, 1 trillion yuan of central government special bonds will be issued to fund coronavirus control measures.

此外，中央政府将发行1万亿元抗疫特别国债。

All proceeds of the special bond issuance and the rise in the fiscal deficit, totaling 2 trillion yuan, will be transferred to local governments, the report said.

报告称，特别国债和增加的赤字规模总共两万亿元将转给地方政府。

It highlighted fiscal support for the economy, despite setting no GDP growth target, as the pandemic disrupts activity via a combination of domestic and external shocks.

尽管没有设定GDP增长目标，但在疫情内外冲击扰乱经济活动的局势下，政府工作报告凸显了中央对经济的财政支持。

The fiscal deficit ratio was set higher than the 2019 target of 2.8 percent.

今年设定的财政赤字率高于2019年2.8%的目标。

Analysts said the phrase "or higher", used in the report, is a new expression that may indicate a willingness to raise the level later if necessary.

分析人士称，报告中用的“以上”这一新表达可能暗示着，如果必要的话还愿意进一步提高赤字率。

In the face of uncertainty, Beijing has raised the local government special bond quota to 3.75 trillion yuan, or 3.6 percent of GDP.

在不确定的情况下，中央拟将地方政府专项债券提高到3.75万亿元，相当于国内生产总值的3.6%。

The Government Work Report said the nation will maintain a prudent monetary policy in a more flexible and appropriate way. A variety of tools will be used, such as reductions in the reserve requirement ratio, interest rate cuts and re-lending, to enable broad money supply and aggregate financing to grow at notably higher rates than last year, it said.

政府工作报告称，稳健的货币政策要更加灵活适度。综合运用降准降息、再贷款等手段，引导广义货币供应量和社会融资规模增速明显高于去年。

Last week, the Ministry of Finance released fiscal data for April. Total budgeted revenue dropped by 15 percent from the same month last year, after a decline of 26.1 percent in March.

上周，财政部公布了四月份的财政数据，预算收入同比下降15%。三月份收入同比下降26.1%。

Meanwhile, fiscal expenditure growth jumped to 7.5 percent year-on-year from a decline of 9.4 percent in March, as China ramped up policy stimulus measures.

与此同时，因为中国开始增加刺激性政策措施，四月份财政支出同比增加了7.5%。三月份财政支出同比下降9.4%。

In the first four months, the government's general public budget income dropped by 14.5 percent from the same period a year ago, and tax income declined by 16.7 percent, the ministry reported.

财政部的报告称，今年前四个月，政府的一般公共预算收入同比减少14.5%，税收收入同比减少16.7%。

Economists forecast that fiscal revenue growth may rise in the coming months, but the pace of recovery could slow significantly due to slumping external demand, the lagging impact of the coronavirus on corporate profits, and waivers and delays in tax payments.

经济学家预测，未来几个月财政收入可能会增长，但是由于外部需求量骤减，疫情对企业利润的滞后影响，以及税收减免和延期缴纳，财政收入恢复速度可能会显著变慢。

Wei Benhua, former deputy administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and former executive director for China at the IMF, said the country is in a good position to use fiscal and monetary policy to counter coronavirus shocks.

国家外汇管理局原副局长、中国驻国际货币基金组织原执行董事魏本华表示，现在国家很适合运用财政和货币政策来对抗新冠疫情的冲击。

Measured by any international standard, China's annual and cumulative fiscal deficits are much lower than those of developed countries, he added.

他补充道，如果用国际标准来衡量，无论当年赤字率还是总赤字占GDP的比例，中国的财政状况都比发达国家要好得多。

"China still has the potential to mobilize resources to support the economy. For example, we could continue to lower the RRR, lower interest rates and inject more liquidity into the economy," he said.

他说：“中国在存款准备金率、利率等政策工具使用上具有很大的空间，可以灵活地调动运用这些工具向经济注入流动性，支持经济发展。”