China's fiscal spending records near-zero growth in July

BEIJING - China's fiscal spending decelerated drastically to near-zero growth in July while the country's fiscal revenue rose faster, official data showed on Friday.

Fiscal expenditures edged up 0.3 percent year on year to 1.28 trillion yuan ($192 billion) last month, compared with a 19.9-percent increase in June, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

The ministry attributed the slowdown to the high base in the same period last year and fast spending in the previous months of this year.

In the first seven months of 2016, outlays climbed 13 percent from a year earlier to 10.19 trillion yuan.

Fiscal revenue rose 3.3 percent year on year to 1.48 trillion yuan in July, up from 1.7 percent in June.

The combined revenue for the first seven months grew 6.5 percent to 10.03 trillion yuan.

Despite the growth, the MOF expects more difficulties in increasing revenue in the coming months due to persisting downward pressure in the economy.

China's fixed-asset investment, industrial output and retail sales all slowed down in July from June, latest data showed, pointing to remaining uncertainties in the world's second largest economy.

The country's ongoing supply-side reforms, which feature tax cuts to lower costs for businesses, also puts pressure on revenue growth.

As a result of tax reform measures, the combined revenue from business taxes and value-added taxes fell 10.9 percent year on year in July, according to the MOF.