BEIJING, March 24 -- China's fiscal revenue dipped 1.6 percent year on year to nearly 4.39 trillion yuan (about 611.59 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of the year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance released on Monday.

The central government collected nearly 1.95 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue, down 5.8 percent year on year, while local governments collected nearly 2.44 trillion yuan, up 2 percent year on year.

China's fiscal expenditure expanded by 3.4 percent year on year to nearly 4.51 trillion yuan in the first two months. The central government's fiscal expenditure rose by 8.6 percent year on year, while there was a 2.7 percent increase in expenditure by local governments during the same period.

In breakdown, education expenditure hit 737.7 billion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, science and technology expenditure exceeded 112.2 billion yuan, a 10.6 percent year-on-year increase, and expenditure on social security and employment hit 854 billion yuan, up 6.7 percent year on year.