BEIJING, April 22 -- China's general public budget spending expanded 2.9 percent year on year to nearly 7 trillion yuan (about 985 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2024, according to a Monday press conference.

Various sectors registered relatively fast growth in fiscal spending, including those related to agriculture, forestry and water conservancy, which saw 13.1 percent growth. Sectors related to urban and rural communities also saw accelerated fiscal spending growth, reporting a 12.1 percent figure, as did those related to housing guarantees, which saw 7.8 percent growth. Social security and employment sectors saw fiscal spending growth of 3.7 percent, and education sectors reported growth of 2.5 percent, Vice Minister of Finance Wang Dongwei told the press conference.

Official data also shows that the country's general public budget revenue decreased 2.3 percent year on year to 6.09 trillion yuan in the first quarter.

In this year's government work report, the country has pledged to continue implementing a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy in 2024.