China's budget document admits outlook for revenue, expenditure in 2022 'remains quite grave'

After China recorded the lowest economic growth in four decades as it grew by 2.3 per cent according to the data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country's budget document admitted that "the outlook for Government revenue and expenditure in 2022 remains quite grave."

The annual work report of the Chinese State Council, the Budget 2022 and the report by the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) on socio-economic issues, presented during the two sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), underlined the economic slowdown concerns of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), ahead of the 20th Party Congress, local media reported.

Similar apprehensions were outlined in the annual work report which described China's external environment as "increasingly volatile, grave and uncertain".

China's growth rate last year was the lowest since the nation's economy "shrank by" 1.6 per cent in 1976.

"According to preliminary estimates, China's GDP in annual terms in 2020 amounted to 101.598 trillion yuan (about USD15.68 trillion), an increase of 2.3% over the same period last year," the NBS report says as quoted by Sputnik.

According to the statistics bureau, the Chinese economy grew only 0.7 per cent in the first three quarters of 2020 (decreasing 6.8 per cent in the first quarter and growing 3.2 per cent in the second quarter and 4.9 per cent in the third quarter).

About 10 years ago, China's economic growth rate began to decline. After 30 years of rapid development, a slowdown is normal, but the overlap with Xi's governance may indicate that the decline in economic growth is related to Xi's policies.

The recent Central Economic Work Conference acknowledged that China's economy faces three pressures: demand contraction, supply shock, and weakening expectation.

( With inputs from ANI )