At the first "Ministerial channel" of the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress on March 5, finance minister Liu Kun said that the appropriate reduction of the deficit rate this year is an important measure to maintain fiscal sustainability. This year's deficit ratio is arranged at about 2.8%, 0.4 percentage points lower than last year's budget, and the scale of funds is reduced by 200 billion yuan. However, through cross year adjustment, the funds transferred from the central government to the general budget alone reached 1.267 trillion yuan. This amount of funds is equivalent to raising the deficit ratio by one percentage point, and the intensity of fiscal expenditure is guaranteed. (Xinhua News Agency)