China Fiscal Revenue Rises 5.1% in First Nine Months of 2026

China's fiscal revenue grew 5.1% year-on-year in the January-September period, the finance ministry said Friday, slowing from a 5.7% gain in the first eight months of 2026. Revenue totaled 17.2 trillion yuan ($2.58 trillion) over the nine months, with tax revenue up 6.1% and non-tax revenue up 1.2%. Fiscal expenditure rose 1.0%, easing from a 1.2% increase in January-August. Finance ministry official Zhao Zeyong said Beijing has accelerated local special bond issuance and plans to front-load part of its 2027 quota. Net special bond issuance reached 3.56 trillion yuan from January to September, or 81% of the annual quota, with September issuance at 633.5 billion yuan, up 214.8 billion yuan from a year earlier. Revenue from government land sales fell 27.9% in the period, narrowing from a 28.6% decline in the first eight months, as the property downturn that began in mid-2021 continues to erode a key funding source for local governments.