BEIJING, April 18 -- China's general public budget spending rose 4.2 percent year on year to 7.2815 trillion yuan (about 1.01 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

Notable growth was observed in spending on education, social security and employment, as well as energy-saving initiatives and environmental protection during the period.

Data showed that China's general public budget revenue decreased by 1.1 percent year on year to 6.0189 trillion yuan in the first three months of the year.

Despite the decline, the country's stamp tax revenue saw a substantial increase of 21.1 percent year on year, reaching 107.5 billion yuan. Revenue from stock trading stamp taxes surged by 60.6 percent from the previous year to 41.1 billion yuan, reflecting heightened enthusiasm in Chinese stock trading during the period.