MNI POLICY: China Seeks Growth by Debt and Consumer Spending

     BEIJING (MNI) - China's top planner, the National Development and Reform

Commission, stressed next year's quotas for local government special-project

bonds will be accelerated to boost investment and support growth. The following

list comments by Ning Jizhe, the commission's vice chairman, and Liu Kun, the

Minister of Finance, who along with central bank Governor Yi Gang appeared

before the press on Tuesday. 

     - The local government bonds for special projects will finance existing

projects in transportation, energy, eco-environmental protection, logistics,

industrial park and improving people's livelihood and city services. 

     - The NDRC will promote consumption of higher-value goods and services,

encourage replacing old vehicles, home appliances and electronic consumer goods,

and remove the vehicle purchase restrictions in more cities, Ning said.

     - The Ministry of Finance will adjust the degree of taxes and fees cuts

based on the policy effect, said Liu, when asked whether China will expand the

scale of reducing taxes and fees.

     - The central government has increased fiscal transfers to local

governments with fiscal difficulties due to by tax and fee cut, and largely

reduce general spending to save funds for the essential expenditure, said Liu.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

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