China has reported an average annual growth of 14 percent in fiscal revenue from 1996 to 2000, spokesman of the Ministry of Finance, Wang Jun, said at a press conference Tuesday.

According to the spokesman, the government's fiscal revenue has been increasing by 135 billion yuan annually since 1996.

The share of fiscal revenue in the gross domestic product (GDP) has also been rising.

Wang estimated that this year fiscal revenue will account for 14.5 percent of the country's GDP, up four percentage points from the level at the beginning the ninth five-year-plan.

In the same period, the government's fiscal spending has also been rising at 14 percent annually, he said.

(People's Daily 10/17/2000)