BEIJING — The Chinese government at various levels has allocated 110.48 billion yuan (about $15.92 billion) for epidemic prevention and control as of March 4, an official said.

Of the total, 71.43 billion yuan had been used and 39.05 billion yuan remained unspent, Vice Finance Minister Xu Hongcai said at a news conference on March 5. 

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) will ensure funds for epidemic prevention and control in Hubei and speed up the allocation of funds, he said.

The central government has injected 6.2 billion yuan into Hubei to support the treatment of patients, construction of hospitals and purchase of equipment, and public health and epidemic prevention, Xu said.

Since last year, China has implemented large-scale tax cuts and fee cuts, which have greatly cut the burden on enterprises and stimulated market vitality, he said.

The scale of tax and fee reductions in 2019 exceeded 2 trillion yuan, Xu said.

On the other hand, the policy of large-scale tax and fee reductions has brought about a reduction in local fiscal revenue, he noted.

This year, due to the epidemic, both the fiscal revenue reduction and expenditure have climbed, and thus some local governments, especially those at the grassroots levels, are facing pressure to balance their revenue and expenditure, he said.

Judging from the current situation, the overall performance of local finances is steady and the funds for epidemic prevention and control are sufficient, he said.

The MOF has issued a circular to further strengthen local finances to secure people's basic livelihood and payments at the primary level. This will be achieved through the joint efforts of governments at all levels, in line with the principle of county-level funding and provincial-level guarantees, as well as the active support of the central government, Xu said.