China’s State Budget Deficit to Amount to $346 Billion in 2017 – Draft Budget

China’s state budget deficit is expected to amount to 2.38 trillion yuan (about $346 billion) or about 3 percent of the country's GDP this year, according to the draft budget for 2017.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — According to the document, the deficit-to-GDP ratio is expected to be at the level of 3 percent, while the registered urban unemployment rate will reach 4.5 percent.

The GDP growth in China is expected to amount to 6.5 percent or more in 2017, which has been the worst indicator in the past 26 years.

“The GDP will grow by about 6.5 percent but in practice we will try to achieve better results,” according to the report by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), published before the opening of the National People's Congress.

On Saturday, China's National People’s Congress (NPC) announced that Beijing will increase by around 7 percent this year, as compared to last year’s $146 billion.

According to China's National Statistics Bureau, the GDP growth declined to 6.7 percent in 2016 from 6.9 percent in 2015, which has been the worst results in the past 26 years.