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

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

For the first time in decades, three U.S. aircraft carriers are operating simultaneously in the Middle East, U.S. Central Command said on Friday.

The three carriers — the USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS George H.W. Bush — are carrying more than 200 aircraft and 15,000 sailors and Marines, according to the Central Command.

A day earlier, the command announced that the Bush carrier strike group had entered its area of responsibility and was currently in the Indian Ocean. The Bush, a Nimitz-class carrier, left Naval Station Norfolk in the U.S. state of Virginia in late March.

The Lincoln is conducting missions in the Arabian Sea, primarily tasked with enhancing U.S. maritime blockade operations, while the Ford is positioned in the northern Red Sea, where the U.S. claims that it is maintaining maritime security.

The Bush is expected to relieve the Ford, and during the handover period, the U.S. military is expected to maintain a three-carrier deployment posture in the region.

Meanwhile, an Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that Iran has never halted production of defense equipment, and the ministry is fully committed to meeting the needs of the armed forces across all situations, including combat readiness and ceasefire conditions.

The developments come as a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire faces uncertainty, with Washington continuing its naval blockade and signaling possible military action.

Pakistan, meanwhile, is pushing to revive stalled U.S.-Iran talks, with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi expected to visit Pakistan for talks with Islamabad's mediation team and Washington saying key negotiators would also travel to Pakistan, raising speculation that a second round of U.S.-Iran talks could resume.

3 U.S. carriers operate simultaneously in Middle East for first time in decades: U.S. Central Command