CHINA: China’s budget deficit surged 58% in...

CHINA: China’s budget deficit surged 58% in 1990, prompting the government to criticize spending practices and call for cost cutting. Finance Minister Wang Bingqian, in his budget report to the National People’s Congress last week, exhorted delegates to help reduce the red ink in China’s 1991 budget by curbing expenses and boosting tax collections. Wang expressed doubt that China would be able to balance its budget during the Eighth Five-Year Plan, which began this year. The communist government said spending exceeded revenue by $2.9 billion, 58% greater than the 1989 shortfall. China plans to spend $66 billion in 1991, trimming the deficit slightly to $2.6 billion, Wang said.