Ministry of Finance: Issuance progress of the 6 trillion yuan quota for replacing hidden debt reaches 98.3%.

On October 23, the Ministry of Finance held a press conference on the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters of 2026, introducing the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters and answering questions from journalists. Zhao Zeyong, Deputy Director-General of the Debt Management Department, mentioned that from January to September, a total of 1,897.7 billion yuan of special bonds for replacing existing hidden debt was issued nationwide, completing 95% of the annual quota of 2 trillion yuan. At this point, the issuance progress of the 6 trillion yuan quota for replacing hidden debt has reached 98.3%. The implementation of the replacement policy has delivered "timely rain" for preventing and defusing local government debt risks. It has not only greatly reduced debt interest expenditures but also freed up more financial resources for local governments to use for the "three guarantees" and undertakings in urgent need of development. Li Nan, Deputy Director-General of the Financial Department, mentioned that the package of policies is anchored to the goal of expanding domestic demand, using fiscal funds to leverage financial resources and financial channels to play a multiplier effect, focusing on stimulating private investment and promoting household consumption, improving the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy, and accelerating the formation of a virtuous cycle of coordinated efforts at both the investment and consumption ends. In the first three quarters, the cumulative benefits to private investment and household consumption each exceeded 2 trillion yuan. On the investment side, it has both promoted quality improvement and upgrading in traditional fields such as transportation, water conservancy, and agriculture, and helped emerging industries such as high-end equipment, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence expand production and upgrade. On the consumption side, it has embedded itself in various consumption scenarios, enriched the supply of high-quality services, reduced the burden of household consumption, and formed a collaborative situation of "state interest subsidies, financial support, and merchant discounts," from which consumers broadly benefit. Zhao Zeyong, Deputy Director-General of the Debt Management Department, introduced that in recent years, in accordance with the authorization of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and with the consent of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance has, in the fourth quarter of each year, pre-issued the next year's new local government debt quota within 60% of the current year's new local government debt quota. From the implementation situation, pre-issuing part of the new quota in accordance with the law can accelerate the progress of new bond issuance and use, effectively guarantee funding needs for major projects in key areas, support the expansion of effective investment, and promote more proactive fiscal policy to be precisely targeted. The transcript is as follows: Transcript of the Press Conference on the Fiscal Revenue and Expenditure Situation for the First Three Quarters of 2026 Gao Feng: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon! Welcome to the Ministry of Finance press conference on the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters of 2026. Today we are pleased to invite Mr. Ma Hongbing, Deputy Director-General of the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Tang Zaifu, Deputy Director-General of the Budget Department, Mr. Li Nan, Deputy Director-General of the Financial Department, and Mr. Zhao Zeyong, Deputy Director-General of the Debt Management Department. They will introduce relevant situations to everyone and answer questions. First, let us invite Mr. Ma Hongbing to introduce the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters of 2026. Ma Hongbing, Deputy Director-General of the Treasury Department Ma Hongbing: Thank you, host. Hello, friends from the media. As usual, I will first brief everyone on the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation for the first three quarters of 2026. First, the general public budget revenue and expenditure situation. On the revenue side, in the first three quarters, national general public budget revenue was 17,229.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. Among this, national tax revenue was 14,070.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%; non-tax revenue was 3,158.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%. By central and local levels, central general public budget revenue was 7,669.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%; local general public budget revenue at the corresponding level was 9,559.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%. The main tax revenue items are as follows: domestic value-added tax was 5,541.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%. Domestic consumption tax was 1,240.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.1%. Corporate income tax was 3,483.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. Individual income tax was 1,346.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%. Value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods were 1,517.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%. Value-added tax and consumption tax rebates on exported goods were 1,808.7 billion yuan, 106.9 billion yuan more than the same period last year, an increase of 6.3%. On the expenditure side, in the first three quarters, national general public budget expenditure was 21,019.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1%. By central and local levels, central general public budget expenditure at the corresponding level was 3,282 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%; local general public budget expenditure was 17,737.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%. Second, the government fund budget revenue and expenditure situation. On the revenue side, in the first three quarters, national government fund budget revenue was 2,501 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18.6%. By central and local levels, central government fund budget revenue was 368.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%; local government fund budget revenue at the corresponding level was 2,132.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 22.3%, among which revenue from the transfer of state-owned land use rights was 1,608.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 27.9%. On the expenditure side, in the first three quarters, national government fund budget expenditure was 6,275.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.2%. By central and local levels, central government fund budget expenditure at the corresponding level was 369.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 54.4%, mainly because in the first half of last year 500 billion yuan of special treasury bond funds were allocated to recapitalize large state-owned commercial banks, raising the base; this year's arranged 300 billion yuan is planned to be allocated in the fourth quarter. Local government fund budget expenditure was 5,906.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.6%, among which expenditure related to revenue from the transfer of state-owned land use rights was 2,556.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18.5%. Thank you. Gao Feng: Thank you, Mr. Ma Hongbing, for the introduction. Next, we will move to the question-and-answer session. Journalists, please state your news organization before asking questions. Journalist from 21st Century Business Herald: How is the fiscal revenue and expenditure situation in the first three quarters? What characteristics does it show? Ma Hongbing: Thank you for your question. Since the beginning of this year, finance departments at all levels have fully implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, promoted more proactive fiscal policy to exert force and improve efficiency, fully leveraged the effectiveness of existing policies, promptly planned and introduced incremental policies, deeply advanced scientific fiscal management, continuously improved the efficiency of fiscal fund use, and provided strong guarantees for completing the annual economic and social development targets and tasks. On this basis, fiscal operations have been generally stable, and fiscal revenue and expenditure have shown the following five characteristics: The first characteristic is steady growth in fiscal revenue. In the first three quarters, national general public budget revenue was 17.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%, with the growth rate 0.4 percentage points higher than in the first half of the year. This was mainly because China's economy operated generally smoothly and continued its trend of development toward the new and the better. At the same time, factors such as upward prices, active stock markets, and strong foreign trade growth also strongly supported fiscal revenue growth. The second characteristic is an increase in the growth rate of tax revenue. In the first three quarters, national tax revenue was 14.07 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, with the growth rate 0.8 percentage points higher than in the first half of the year. By tax type, domestic value-added tax increased by 6%, mainly driven by continued growth in industry and services and upward producer prices for industrial products; value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods increased by 12.7%, mainly due to relatively rapid growth in foreign trade imports; corporate income tax increased by 7.1%, mainly due to growth in corporate profits. The third characteristic is a decline in the growth rate of non-tax revenue. In the first three quarters, national non-tax revenue was 3.16 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, with the growth rate down 1.1 percentage points from the first half of the year. Among this, revenue from paid use of state-owned resources (assets) increased by 1.5%, mainly due to an increase in proceeds from the transfer of mining rights and other items; revenue from administrative and institutional fees decreased by 1.6%, mainly because starting from the autumn semester last year, childcare and education fees for children in the final year of public kindergartens were exempted. The fourth characteristic is that general public budget revenue increased generally across regions. In the first three quarters, local general public budget revenue at the corresponding level was 9.56 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%, with the growth rate flat compared with the first half of the year. By region, revenue in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions all maintained growth. Among the 31 provinces, 28 provinces saw revenue growth. The fifth characteristic is that expenditure related to investing in people has been well guaranteed. Finance departments at all levels have earnestly implemented more proactive fiscal policy, maintained necessary expenditure intensity, and guaranteed expenditure in key areas. In the first three quarters, national general public budget expenditure was 21.02 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1%. Among the main national expenditure areas, health expenditure increased by 7.7%, mainly due to increased childcare subsidies; social security and employment expenditure increased by 5.2%; housing security expenditure increased by 3.1%; science and technology expenditure increased by 3%; education expenditure increased by 1.1%. Thank you. Journalist from Securities Times: At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Finance led the introduction of a package of fiscal-financial coordination policies to boost domestic demand, and in August launched optimization and strengthening measures. How effective has policy implementation been, and what are the next plans? In addition, what is the progress of the residential home purchase loan interest subsidy policy introduced at the end of September? Li Nan, Deputy Director-General of the Financial Department Li Nan: Thank you for your question. In accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, establishing a fiscal-financial coordination policy tool to boost domestic demand this year is an important innovative measure in the field of macroeconomic regulation. Since the introduction of the package of policies at the beginning of the year, we have continued to track, monitor, and dynamically optimize and improve them, and in August further strengthened them to improve effectiveness. From the implementation situation, in the first three quarters, policies such as interest subsidies for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, interest subsidies for equipment renewal loans, interest subsidies for loans to service sector business entities, interest subsidies for personal consumption loans, and the special guarantee plan for private investment supported more than 28 trillion yuan of new credit in related fields, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%; cumulatively benefiting 8.36 million enterprises and 147 million person-times of residents. Against the background of the transformation of old and new growth drivers and the adjustment of financing structure, credit extension supported by the package of policies achieved counter-trend growth, driving more social resources to flow into key areas of expanding domestic demand, and the policy effects are gradually emerging. This is specifically reflected in three aspects: First, the scope of benefits has steadily expanded. During the implementation of the package of policies, we closely followed market demand, dynamically expanded the scope of support, and better matched enterprise operations and household consumption financing needs. Taking interest subsidies for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises as an example, in the initial stage the policy focused on supporting fixed asset loans. To meet enterprises' daily operating turnover needs, starting in August working capital loans were included in the scope of support, and the policy effect was released faster. Within two months, it supported more than 1.8 trillion yuan of new working capital loans, benefiting more than 500,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, providing support for stabilizing operations and jobs. In terms of interest subsidies for personal consumption loans, this year credit card bill installments and special credit card installments were successively included in the scope of support, covering daily consumption scenarios such as car purchases, home decoration, and home appliance purchases. Eligible installment consumption can all enjoy interest subsidy benefits according to regulations. Second, support intensity has continued to increase. The package of policies comprehensively uses tools such as loan interest subsidies, financing guarantees, and risk compensation, both lowering financing thresholds and reducing financing costs, with targeted and precise efforts. For example, for interest subsidies on loans to service sector business entities, the per-household interest-subsidized loan limit was raised from 10 million yuan at the beginning of the year to 20 million yuan, making the policy more effective in meeting needs. In the first three quarters, it supported about 8.8 trillion yuan of new loans in fields such as catering and accommodation, health and elderly care, culture and tourism and sports, and retail services. Among this, after strengthened implementation in August, average monthly new loans in related fields increased by about 30% month on month. Another example is the special guarantee plan for private investment introduced at the beginning of the year, which substantially raised credit guarantee limits, risk-sharing ratios, and compensation ceilings, and halved re-guarantee fees; the central finance simultaneously provided supporting policies such as risk compensation and fee reduction subsidies. In the first three quarters, it helped more than 90,000 small and medium-sized private enterprises lower financing thresholds. During implementation, the central finance injected 5 billion yuan into the National Financing Guarantee Fund, guiding the fund to allocate funds to provincial guarantee institutions through equity investment, further consolidating the capital strength of the guarantee system and helping more business entities obtain financing support. Third, comprehensive effectiveness continues to be released. The package of policies is anchored to the goal of expanding domestic demand, using fiscal funds to leverage financial resources and financial channels to play a multiplier effect, focusing on stimulating private investment and promoting household consumption, improving the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy, and accelerating the formation of a virtuous cycle of coordinated efforts at both the investment and consumption ends. In the first three quarters, the cumulative benefits to private investment and household consumption each exceeded 2 trillion yuan. On the investment side, it has both promoted quality improvement and upgrading in traditional fields such as transportation, water conservancy, and agriculture, and helped emerging industries such as high-end equipment, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence expand production and upgrade. On the consumption side, it has embedded itself in various consumption scenarios, enriched the supply of high-quality services, reduced the burden of household consumption, and formed a collaborative situation of "state interest subsidies, financial support, and merchant discounts," from which consumers broadly benefit. Next, we will continue to do three aspects of work well. First, closely monitor operations. Urge and guide local governments and handling institutions to simplify operating procedures, shorten processing times, innovate products and services, and improve the quality and efficiency of policy implementation. Second, optimize working mechanisms. Deepen departmental coordination, central-local connectivity, and government-enterprise linkage, clarify the chain of responsibilities, promote information sharing, and achieve complementary advantages, smooth connections, and strong execution. Third, do a good job in policy reserves. Closely focusing on key links such as household consumption, private investment, and optimization of supply and demand structure, strengthen forward-looking research and planning, enrich the policy toolbox, and promote normalized and long-term fiscal-financial linkage. Just now, you also mentioned the residential home purchase loan interest subsidy policy. This is the first time the central finance has implemented interest subsidies for commercial personal housing loans, and it is also a beneficial exploration and practice of fiscal-financial coordination tools in the housing field to protect and improve people's livelihoods. According to unified arrangements, the policy was released on September 29 and implemented nationwide starting October 1, with an implementation period tentatively set at one year. This policy focuses on supporting rigid-demand groups such as new citizens including migrant workers, young people including newly employed college graduates, and urban wage-earning families, in newly purchasing small and medium-sized, relatively low-priced first homes. Both new homes and second-hand homes are included in the scope of support. Eligible housing loans are given interest subsidy support for a period not exceeding 5 years, reducing the burden of mortgage interest and helping more people achieve housing. The total scale of interest subsidy funds has no upper limit, with settlement based on actual amounts and full subsidies for all eligible cases. After the policy was released, relying on the working mechanism of the package of policies, we immediately guided all localities to accelerate implementation, fully implementing "enjoy without application" and deducting interest subsidy funds monthly. From the operation situation, the policy has been implemented smoothly and initial results have appeared. According to handling banks, during this period many families have been viewing and purchasing homes and processing loans, and generally believe that the interest subsidy policy has genuinely reduced the monthly payment burden and left more room for daily expenses and children's education. Subsequently, we will organize all parties to answer the same question together, strengthen overall coordination, strengthen publicity and interpretation, and effectively advance policy implementation, ensuring that policy dividends are accurately delivered and fully enjoyed, and truly doing good deeds well and practical matters effectively. Thank you! Journalist from Xinhua News Agency: Could you introduce the issuance and use of local government special bonds since the beginning of this year? In recent years, the Ministry of Finance has pre-issued part of the next year's new local government bond quota every year. Will part of the 2027 quota be pre-issued this year? Zhao Zeyong, Deputy Director-General of the Debt Management Department Zhao Zeyong: Thank you for your question. First, I will introduce the issuance and use of local government special bonds. Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Finance has guided all localities to further strengthen special bond management, accelerate the progress of special bond issuance and use, and actively leverage policy effectiveness. The main characteristics are: First, new bond issuance has steadily accelerated. From January to September, a total of 3,560.8 billion yuan of new special bonds was issued nationwide, with an issuance progress of 81%. Among this, 633.9 billion yuan was issued in September, 214.8 billion yuan more than the same period last year, marking a clear acceleration in issuance. In the 14 "self-review and self-issuance" pilot regions, project reserves and bond issuance were more closely connected, with 2,708.7 billion yuan issued from January to September, accounting for 76% of the national issuance amount. Second, use has become more focused. All localities focused on local development strategies and advantageous industries, gave priority to guaranteeing funding needs for projects under construction and continued construction, and coordinated more optimally in funds and projects. Investment was mainly directed to infrastructure and livelihood project construction in fields such as municipal and industrial parks, transportation, affordable housing projects, and urban renewal, effectively leveraging the policy effectiveness of special bonds in benefiting livelihoods, promoting investment, and strengthening weak links. Third, hidden debt replacement has achieved remarkable results. From January to September, a total of 1,897.7 billion yuan of special bonds for replacing existing hidden debt was issued nationwide, completing 95% of the annual quota of 2 trillion yuan. At this point, the issuance progress of the 6 trillion yuan quota for replacing hidden debt has reached 98.3%. The implementation of the replacement policy has delivered "timely rain" for preventing and defusing local government debt risks. It has not only greatly reduced debt interest expenditures but also freed up more financial resources for local governments to use for the "three guarantees" and undertakings in urgent need of development. Next, we will continue to increase work intensity, adopt targeted measures, and ensure completion of the annual targets and tasks. Next, I will introduce the situation regarding the pre-issuance of part of the 2027 new local government debt quota. In recent years, in accordance with the authorization of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and with the consent of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance has, in the fourth quarter of each year, pre-issued the next year's new local government debt quota within 60% of the current year's new local government debt quota. From the implementation situation, pre-issuing part of the new quota in accordance with the law can accelerate the progress of new bond issuance and use, effectively guarantee funding needs for major projects in key areas, support the expansion of effective investment, and promote more proactive fiscal policy to be precisely targeted. Next, the Ministry of Finance will promptly do a good job in pre-issuing part of the 2027 new local government debt quota, guide all localities to plan early and prepare early, promptly perform budget preparation and other related procedures, and ensure that bond issuance starts as early as possible in January next year. Thank you. Journalist from People's Daily Overseas Edition: The Ministry of Finance has organized and carried out pilot projects for scientific local fiscal management in some provinces for more than a year. So far, how are the pilot projects for scientific fiscal management progressing and what are the effects? Tang Zaifu, Deputy Director-General of the Budget Department Tang Zaifu: Thank you for your attention to the pilot projects for scientific fiscal management. The Recommendations adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party and the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development both propose strengthening scientific fiscal management. This is an important task assigned by the Party Central Committee and the State Council to finance departments, a practical need for managing and using fiscal funds well, and an inevitable requirement for improving fiscal governance effectiveness and effectively serving and safeguarding Chinese modernization. The Party Group of the Ministry of Finance attaches great importance to this work, launched the pilot projects at the beginning of 2025, and organized 12 provinces to jointly explore new paths for scientific fiscal management around 11 tasks such as strengthening the coordination of fiscal resources and budgets and deepening zero-based budgeting reform. Over the past year and more, central finance has taken the overall situation into account, made careful arrangements, done a good job in overall coordination, and strengthened tracking and guidance; party committees and governments of each pilot province attached great importance, promoted at a high level, actively explored according to local conditions, and vigorously implemented tasks; relevant departments broke down barriers and strongly supported, with upper and lower linkage and horizontal and vertical coordination. Overall, the pilot work has been solidly advanced, and various tasks have achieved positive results. Here I will briefly introduce from three aspects: revenue, expenditure, and management. On the revenue side, the ability to coordinate fiscal resources and budgets has been further enhanced, concentrating more financial resources to accomplish major national affairs. In the pilot work, each province adhered to the "one plate" of revenue, deepened the management of the government's full-caliber revenue budget, and integrated scattered and idle "small money" from different departments and different levels into "big money" that can be coordinated for use, better guaranteeing expenditure in key areas. For example, Zhejiang Province increased the transfer of government fund budgets and state-owned capital operation budgets into general public budgets, transferring 206.4 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for 16.5% of general public budget expenditure, concentrating more financial resources to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods. For another example, Shaanxi Province comprehensively carried out the revitalization of state-owned idle funds of provincial administrative and institutional units, and in 2026 has revitalized 5.69 billion yuan, better leveraging the efficiency of idle funds. On the expenditure side, zero-based budgeting reform has been deeply advanced, and the expenditure structure has been further optimized. Fully implement the requirements of zero-based budgeting reform, eliminate base dependence in budget arrangements, strengthen ex ante performance evaluation and budget review, reasonably arrange expenditure according to financial conditions and actual needs, strictly implement the requirement for party and government organs to habitually tighten their belts, and effectively promote the construction of a budget allocation mechanism that ensures what must be ensured, saves what should be saved, supports what should be supported and cuts what should be cut, and emphasizes performance, with the performance of fiscal fund use steadily improving. For example, Anhui Province promoted the merger and integration of similar types of funds originally dispersed across 110 budget departments into 11 sections, and the province cumulatively cleaned up nearly 7,000 various expenditure policies. Shandong Province innovatively applied the "345" working method of zero-based budgeting. By making three judgments (whether money should be allocated, how much money should be allocated, and how money should be allocated), grasping four principles (ensure what must be ensured, do what is within capacity, provide coordinated guarantees, and act within means), and establishing five lists ("three guarantees" and debt principal and interest repayment, public services, industrial development, key construction, and government operations), it effectively addressed issues such as whether money should be allocated, how much money should be allocated, and how money should be allocated, effectively breaking the rigid expenditure pattern and using precious funds where they are most needed. In the 2026 provincial budget preparation, 53 inefficient and ineffective policies were canceled or withdrawn, and 3.2 billion yuan of funds was reduced. On the management side, a fiscal management system that reaches horizontally to the edges and vertically to the bottom is being accelerated, striving to achieve closed-loop supervision of fiscal funds. Adhering to piloting, summarizing, and improving simultaneously, promptly consolidating good experiences and good practices explored in the pilots into long-term effective systems and measures, and continuously improving the fiscal management chain. Horizontally, from finance departments to competent departments and then to fund-using units, all parties are promoted to perform their duties and manage everything that should be managed; vertically, from central to local levels, with upper and lower connectivity, hierarchical responsibility, and implementation to the end, deepening full-chain penetrative supervision of fiscal funds. For example, Guangdong Province established a new township fiscal management mechanism and continuously improved the level of scientific township fiscal management by improving systems and mechanisms, standardizing account management, implementing penetrative supervision, and carrying out concentrated rectification. It should be specially noted that not only the 12 pilot provinces, but also other non-pilot provinces actively followed up, deepened reform exploration in accordance with the relevant requirements of the pilot work and in light of local realities, forming a vivid situation of comparing, learning, catching up, and advancing together, and accumulating many good experiences and practices. Next, in accordance with the spirit of the symposium on pilot projects for scientific fiscal management held in Hefei, Anhui on August 26 this year and the deployment requirements of the Party Group of the Ministry of Finance, we will uphold and apply well the experiences and insights formed in the pilots, more prominently strengthen coordination, more prominently improve efficiency, more prominently standardize operations, more prominently ensure safety and sustainability, and more prominently promote systematic integration, promoting scientific fiscal management from point to area and toward deeper development, achieving full-domain coverage, full-chain connection, and all-round efforts in scientific fiscal management, running scientific fiscal management through the entire process and all aspects from the source of budget arrangements to the end of fund use, and from finance departments to grassroots budget units, continuously improving the systematization, refinement, standardization, and rule-of-law level of fiscal management, and providing strong support for advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Thank you. Journalist from China Financial News: Since the beginning of this year, agricultural production in some areas of China has been affected by natural disasters. It is understood that agricultural insurance has played an important role in disaster relief and loss reduction. Could you introduce the relevant work results and next steps? Li Nan: Thank you for your question. China has a vast territory, and in recent years extreme weather has occurred frequently. This year, disasters in some areas have been relatively prominent, adversely affecting agricultural production. Agricultural insurance, as the "stabilizer" and "safety net" of agricultural production, is an important policy tool benefiting farmers and is directly related to farmers' incomes, stable grain production, and national food security. The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to agricultural insurance, and the No. 1 Central Document has made arrangements for 23 consecutive years. The Ministry of Finance fully leverages its functions, continuously increases support, gradually broadens the scope of protection, raises protection standards, and improves institutional mechanisms, with the results of agricultural insurance in protecting and benefiting farmers continuing to emerge. First, raising standards and expanding coverage to stabilize grain-growing expectations. Nearly 80% of China's agricultural insurance premiums are subsidized by finance, effectively reducing farmers' burden of participation and ensuring timely compensation after disasters. After years of advancement, the full-cost and planting-income insurance policies for rice, wheat, corn, and soybeans have achieved nationwide full coverage; the full-cost and planting-income insurance for sugar cane and comprehensive insurance for natural rubber have basically covered main producing areas, with protection significantly stronger than traditional input-cost insurance, effectively relieving farmers' worries about growing grain. In the past five years, the average per-mu protection level of insurance for the three major staple grains nationwide rose from about 400 yuan to nearly 1,000 yuan, and the average per-mu protection level of soybean insurance rose from about 250 yuan to nearly 600 yuan, further stabilizing farmers' production confidence. Second, timely compensation to help disaster areas resume production. Since the beginning of this year, many places have encountered disasters such as heavy rain, floods, and typhoons, and national agricultural insurance has cumulatively paid more than 100 billion yuan in compensation. In particular, during the critical flood control period of "July and August," about 30 billion yuan was paid to affected farmers, effectively responding to the impact of disasters such as Typhoons Bavi, Maysak, and Dolphin, and fully supporting disaster relief and production recovery. In a major grain-producing county on the eastern coast, a typhoon hit in August this year, flooding and flattening large areas of rice fields, and a large grower in the area had 1,670 mu of early rice seriously damaged. After the farmer reported the case, the underwriting institution quickly organized a survey and paid about 1.2 million yuan on the same day the loss was assessed, supporting the farmer in draining water, rushing to harvest, and repairing farmland. Third, consolidating support to safeguard food security. We guide all localities to make good use of agricultural insurance policy tools, adapt to the development needs of various agricultural business entities, help agricultural modernization, and strongly support China's grain output in stabilizing at around 1.4 trillion jin. Since the beginning of this year, the scale of national agricultural insurance premiums has exceeded 140 billion yuan, cumulatively providing about 4.4 trillion yuan of risk protection for 105 million household-times of farmers. It is expected that the annual premium scale will remain stable at more than 150 billion yuan, providing more than 5 trillion yuan of risk protection, continuously consolidating the foundation of agricultural production protection and building a strong barrier for food security. To promote quality and efficiency improvement in agricultural insurance, on September 8 we, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, issued the Implementation Plan for Accelerating the High-Quality Development of Agricultural Insurance, clarifying the next stage's development goals, setting quantitative indicators such as agricultural insurance depth, density, and science and technology investment intensity, and proposing a series of measures in product innovation, science and technology application, and other aspects, to further stabilize farmers' incomes, improve agricultural production capacity, and better serve and safeguard national food security. Next, in accordance with the principles of government guidance, market operation, voluntary participation, and coordinated advancement, we will work with relevant departments to implement the plan well. By optimizing underwriting and claims management, enriching insurance product supply, strengthening information technology application, strengthening data interconnection and sharing, improving dynamic pricing mechanisms, and improving risk diversification systems, we will accelerate the construction of a multi-level agricultural insurance system that fits farmers' risk protection needs, adapts to modern agricultural development, and has central and local responsibilities divided, achieving a win-win pattern of efficient subsidies, guaranteed industry, tangible benefits for farmers, and sustainable institutions. Thank you. Journalist from CCTV Finance Channel: Recently, the Ministry of Finance arranged the use of 550 billion yuan of local government debt carryover quota to improve the general public budget guarantee capacity of counties and districts and support localities in expanding effective investment. What is the current progress? Zhao Zeyong: Thank you for your question. To implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and in light of the current fiscal and economic operation situation, with the consent of the State Council, 550 billion yuan of local government debt carryover quota has recently been arranged for use to improve the general public budget guarantee capacity of counties and districts and support localities in expanding effective investment. This arrangement for the use of carryover quota has three characteristics: First, greater intensity. This year's arranged use of local government debt carryover quota is 550 billion yuan, 50 billion yuan more than last year and 150 billion yuan more than the year before, further increasing intensity and fully reflecting the policy orientation of a more proactive and precisely targeted proactive fiscal policy. Second, clear direction. Of the 550 billion yuan of local government debt carryover quota, 300 billion yuan of general debt carryover quota is arranged for use, all allocated to counties and districts for use, and provinces and cities may not intercept it, specifically for improving the general public budget guarantee capacity of counties and districts; 250 billion yuan of special debt carryover quota is arranged for use, allocated to regions with actual project funding needs in the fourth quarter of this year, tilted toward major economic provinces, supporting priority guarantee of funding needs for projects under construction, and projects that truly need to be newly built focus on key areas such as the construction of the "six networks," effectively leveraging the driving role of government investment. Third, stricter requirements. On the one hand, localities are required to better connect project reserves and bond issuance, accelerate the issuance pace, smooth the allocation chain, and the carryover quota used for project construction should be issued and used before the end of this year, forming physical workload as soon as possible and promoting early policy implementation and early results. On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance will strengthen guidance and supervision over the issuance and use of carryover quota, strictly prohibit violations such as misappropriation and false reporting of expenditure progress, and ensure efficient and standardized use of funds. From the perspective of policy implementation, after the Ministry of Finance issued the carryover quota, all localities acted quickly, closely followed policy requirements, promptly decomposed and issued quotas, and accelerated various preliminary work. Recently, Guangdong and Sichuan respectively disclosed plans to issue 36.1 billion yuan and 10 billion yuan of special bonds next week using carryover quota for key area project construction. Relevant provinces will continue issuance subsequently, and policy effects will gradually emerge. Thank you. Gao Feng: Today's press conference ends here. Thank you, everyone! This article is edited from the Ministry of Finance. GMTEight editor: Chen Wenfang.