China’s fiscal revenues rise 4.7pc in third-quarter

China's fiscal revenues grew 4.7 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, reversing a 7.4 per cent drop in the previous quarter, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, as the country's economic recovery picked up pace.

China's economy in the July to September quarter expanded by 4.9 per cent from a year earlier, weaker than analyst expectations but faster than the second quarter's 3.2 per cent growth.

For the first nine months of the year, fiscal revenues fell 6.4 per cent from a year earlier to 14.10 trillion yuan ($2.12 trillion), while fiscal expenditures dropped 1.9 per cent to 17.519 trillion yuan, the ministry said.

Liu Jinyun, a finance ministry official, told a briefing that tax receipts could get a boost from China's continued economic rebound in the fourth quarter.

"The decline in accumulative fiscal revenues will gradually moderate," he said.

The government is on track to cut taxes and fees by more than 2.5 trillion yuan in 2020, including 1.88 trillion yuan in the first eight months, the ministry said.

China has allocated 200 billion yuan in local government special bonds to help resolve risks at small banks, Wang Kebing, a second finance ministry official, told the briefing.

In July, China's cabinet said it would allow local governments to use part of the money they raise from special bonds this year to recapitalise some small banks.

China's local governments will be allowed to issue 3.75 trillion yuan in special bonds this year, up from 2.15 trillion yuan in 2019.