Analysis: China’s Provinces All Posted First-Half Deficits. Does it Really Matter?

China’s provincial-level governments were all running fiscal deficits in the first half of this year, and for most the hole in their budget was expanding. But is it really a cause for concern?

In the first half of this year, all 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland booked less in revenue than they spent in their general public budget, data published by local governments and the National Bureau of Statistics show.