BEIJING: China’s top officials pledged to lower tariffs and expedite debt sales in 2019 as they seek to manage an economic slowdown while tackling the trade standoff with the US.
Meanwhile, the government will speed up bond sales and the use of the funding to boost domestic demand, Finance Minister Liu Kun said at the same event. “Fiscal policy will play a bigger role in supporting the real economy” in spite of slowing revenue growth, Liu said, repeating a plan to reduce taxes and fees by at least two trillion yuan this year.
Authorities will work to complete the issuance of 3.08 trillion yuan of local government debt by September to stabilise investment, while keeping an eye on off-balance-sheet debt that local officials raised via financing vehicles, especially in high-risk areas, Liu added.