Finance minister rules out large stimulus

Minister of Finance Lou Jiwei reiterated that China will not introduce large scale financial stimulus measures.

Lou said that his ministry will only make minor adjustments to boost economic growth and employment while maintaining the general scale of the deficit, according to a statement posted on the ministry's official website.

He added that job opportunities outnumber job seekers. However, the structure of employment needs to be adjusted because college graduates are reluctant to take manual or technical jobs, he said.

The deficit makes up 2.2 percent of GDP.

Departments will cut their regular expenditure by 5 percent, Lou said.

He said that financial reform is under way.

The government should expand its decision-making power concerning local government expenditure, he said.

He also stressed that tax reduction is being discussed, particularly for small businesses.

A cut of 900 billion yuan ($145 billion) in tax revenue is expected to be introduced in the next two years.