China 2018 fiscal spending rises 8.7 percent, fiscal revenue up 6.2 percent

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's fiscal spending rose 8.7 percent to 22.1 trillion yuan (£2.51 trillion) in 2018, while revenue gained 6.2 percent to 18.3 trillion yuan, finance ministry officials told reporters on Wednesday.

As China's economy slows, policymakers have pledged more aggressive tax reductions in 2019, fanning expectations among economists that the annual budget deficit ratio could be lifted to 3 percent of gross domestic product.

In 2018, the government lowered the annual budget deficit target to 2.6 percent of GDP from 3 percent in 2017 - the first cut since 2012.

(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)