BEIJING — China will keep its fiscal policy basically stable and make no sharp turns in 2021, the finance minister said on March 5.

The country will lower the deficit ratio and quota of the local government special bonds from last year, Minister of Finance Liu Kun told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual national legislative session.

However, compared with 2019, China's total deficit will increase by 810 billion yuan (about $124.8 billion) to 3.57 trillion yuan this year. The quota of the newly-added special-purpose local government bonds for 2021 will stand at 3.65 trillion yuan, up by 1.5 trillion yuan from 2019.

The general expenditure of the central government has decreased for two consecutive years. The money saved was used to expand transfer payments to the local governments, Liu said.

Liu vowed that China will continue to improve management of government debt, keep the macro leverage ratio basically stable, maintain the necessary support for economic recovery, and leave policy space to cope with future risks and challenges.