The year 2021 marks the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) and a new journey of building a modern socialist country. In the first half of 2021, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, government departments at all levels across the country earnestly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, continued to consolidate and expand the results of pandemic prevention and control, and economic and social development, did a solid job in ensuring “stability on six fronts” and maintaining “security in six areas”, and carried out macroeconomic policies. China’s economy has been on a steady recovery path and seen continuing improvement. Scientific and technological independence and self-reliance have been actively promoted, reform and opening-up has been stepped up, people’s livelihoods have been effectively guaranteed, high-quality development has gained new ground, and overall social stability has been maintained. In the first half of 2021, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 12.7 percent year-on-year, an average increase of 5.3 percent in the past two years. Major macroeconomic indicators remained within a reasonable range.

Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, upheld the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, focused on the new development stage, applied the new development philosophy, and fostered a new development paradigm. We have earnestly implemented the requirements of proactive fiscal policy with higher quality, efficiency and sustainability, maintained the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies, avoided making sharp turns, and ensured necessary support for economic recovery. We have also balanced stable growth and risk prevention, rationally arranged the scales of deficits, debts and expenditures, optimized the expenditure structure with greater efforts, strengthened the coordination of financial resources, enhanced the management of local government debts, and promoted sustainable fiscal development. These efforts will ensure a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan period.