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BEIJING, April 18 (Reuters) - China's fiscal revenue
rose in March, reversing a decline in January-February, as
economic activity rebounded following the end of strict COVID
curbs, but the finance ministry warned that revenue growth would
slow in the second half of the year.
Fiscal revenue rose 0.5% in the first three months of 2023
versus the same period a year earlier, while fiscal expenditure
rose 6.8% on year.
In March, fiscal revenue grew 5.5% after declining 1.2%
in January-February, according to Reuters calculations based on
the ministry's data.
China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the
first quarter of the year, as consumers came out of crippling
pandemic disruptions with a 4.5% rise in Q1 gross domestic
product (GDP), although headwinds from a global slowdown point
to a bumpy ride ahead.
"China's economic rebound provides fundamental support
for fiscal revenue growth, and the fiscal revenue growth will
slow down in the second half of the year," officials from the
finance ministry said at a news conference.
In the second half of the year, the ministry said they
will approve budgets in a timely way, speed up the issuance and
use of special local government bonds and improve preferential
treatment for taxes and fees.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by
Christopher Cushing and Sonali Paul)
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