China's fiscal revenue contracted 1.7% in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to figures released by the finance ministry, marking the first annual decline since 2020. Total fiscal receipts came to 21.6 trillion yuan.
At a press briefing, a ministry official said public spending increased 1% to 28.7 trillion yuan in 2025, a slower rise than the 3.6% growth recorded in 2024. The slowdown in expenditure growth accompanied the drop in revenue, leaving a wider gap between government receipts and outlays.
Breaking down the 2025 revenue picture, tax revenue edged up 0.8%, while income from non-tax sources fell sharply by 11.3%. One notable bright spot was stamp tax revenue linked to securities transactions, which jumped 57.8%, supported by a rally in the stock market.
Conversely, receipts from land sales by local governments declined for the fourth consecutive year as the protracted property slump continued to erode a traditional source of local funding. Land-sale revenue fell 14.7% in 2025, an improvement in the rate of decline from the 16% drop recorded the previous year, but still a significant reduction.
Those land-related revenues have historically helped finance local economic measures and investments. The sustained fall in these receipts has strained local authorities' coffers and weighed on overall business activity, the ministry said.
For additional context on revenue trends, fiscal growth had slowed to 1.3% in 2024, and fiscal revenue earlier fell 3.9% in 2020 when the initial COVID-19 outbreak disrupted economic activity. The ministry underscored that the 2025 outcome reflected the combined drag of the property sector and weak domestic consumption.
On the broader economy, China expanded by 5.0% in 2025, meeting the government's growth target. The finance ministry noted that strong global demand for goods helped offset subdued household spending, though economists cited in the briefing warned that relying on external demand will be difficult to sustain.
In response to the fiscal picture, Chinese leaders pledged to maintain a more proactive fiscal stance this year. They said they would preserve the necessary fiscal deficit, overall debt levels and expenditure scale to support broader economic growth.
For reference, the finance ministry provided the exchange rate used in reporting: $1 = 6.9485 Chinese yuan.
Clear summary: China saw a 1.7% fall in fiscal revenue in 2025 to 21.6 trillion yuan, driven by a prolonged property slump and weak domestic demand. Expenditures rose 1% to 28.7 trillion yuan. Tax receipts rose slightly while non-tax and land-sale revenues fell, prompting officials to pledge continued proactive fiscal support despite a 5.0% GDP expansion aided by strong external demand.