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China's general public budget revenue reached 6.16 trillion yuan (about 897 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, up 2.4 percent year on year, marking the fastest growth for the same period in three years, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The central government collected about 2.5 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue during the period, up 2.7 percent year on year, while local governments collected 3.66 trillion yuan, up 2.1 percent.

"In the first quarter, the growth rate of China's general public budget revenue was 1.7 percentage points higher than in the first two months of the year and also outperformed the levels seen in the same period over the past three years. This reflects a strong and good start of China's economy in the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030)," said Wang Jianxun, director of the ministry’s Treasury Payment Center.

Tax revenue during the period totaled 4.85 trillion yuan, up 2.2 percent, while non-tax revenue rose 2.9 percent to 1.31 trillion yuan.

"Domestic value-added tax (VAT) revenue rose 4.9 percent year on year, driven mainly by growth in the industrial and service sectors and a narrowing decline in the producer prices. Revenue from VAT and excise tax on imports increased by 12.9 percent, reflecting a strong start in foreign trade. Revenue from stamp duty on securities transactions surged 78.1 percent, fueled by active stock market trading and higher turnover. Export rebates for VAT and excise tax reached 791.1 billion yuan, an increase of 36.2 billion yuan, or 4.8 percent, providing solid support for export growth," said Wang.

On the spending side, China's fiscal expenditure expanded 2.6 percent year on year to 7.47 trillion yuan in the first quarter, with the budget execution pace hitting a five-year high.

"Health care expenditure increased by 12.1 percent, mainly due to the centralized distribution of childcare subsidies and increased subsidies for the basic medical insurance fund. Social security and employment spending rose by 9 percent. Expenditure on urban and rural communities grew by 2.8 percent, while spending on housing support increased by 6.3 percent," said Wang.

China's Q1 general public budget revenue growth hits three-year high