Analysis: China’s Support to Regional Governments Tops 10 Trillion Yuan for Second Year

The Chinese central government is allocating a budget of 10.2 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) for its so-called “financial transfer payments” to regional governments in 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance. That marks the second straight year that the redistributed sum has exceeded 10 trillion yuan.

Transfer payments, which are part of the central government’s effort to redistribute fiscal revenue to lower-level governments, is a key tool with which Beijing financially supports less developed areas, as the country pushes for a more balanced and coordinated economic growth.