China's social security funds balance reaches 7.36t yuan in H1

BEIJING - China's social security funds have maintained a stable balance in the first half (H1) of this year, with both revenue and expenditure seeing fast growth, the country's finance minister said Tuesday.

The total balance of social security funds stood at 7.36 trillion yuan ($1.11 trillion) by the end of June this year, said Finance Minister Xiao Jie at a five-day bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee that opened Monday.

Revenue of the funds increased 28.8 percent to 3.14 trillion yuan in H1, while expenditure climbed 23.8 percent to 2.47 trillion yuan, he said.

Xiao attributed the rise in both revenue and expenditure partly to the reform on the pension system of government agencies and institutions, which some provinces launched this year.

He also said that fiscal authorities have been implementing proactive policies, ensuring stable fiscal operations. In the first seven months, national general public budget revenue increased 10 percent to 11.08 trillion yuan, while expenditure climbed 14.5 percent to 11.7 trillion yuan.