Visitors pose for a selfie with Chinese national flags in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The hall will host several events at the annual two sessions, including the plenary meetings of China's top legislative body and political advisory body. Photo: IC

China's deficit-to-GDP ratio, set at above 3.6 percent for 2020 in this year's Government Work Report, is moderate seen from a global perspective, a senior official at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Sunday.

Cong Liang, a senior NDRC official, said China's decision to hike the deficit-to-GDP ratio to above 3.6 percent is plausible, safe and necessary, when asked about debt concerns at a press conference on Sunday.

To put the data in a global context, the global average deficit-to-GDP ratio will hike to 9.9 percent in 2020 from the 3.7 percent in 2019, Cong said, citing data from the IMF. For developed nations, the ratio will on average grow to 10.7 percent from 3 percent. 

The US will see the ratio rising to 15.4 percent in 2020, France will see a 9.2 percent rate and the UK an 8.3 percent rate. Japan will see the rate rise to 7.1 percent.

The average projected ratio for developing nations and middle-income countries are significantly lower, reaching an average 9 percent. 

Cong made the remark at a press conference on government's efforts for ensuring stability on six fronts: employment, financial sector, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and expectations, while fully maintaining security in six areas: job security, basic living needs, operations of market entities, food and energy security, stable industrial and supply chains, and the normal functioning of primary-level governments.

Facing unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, China scrapped a specific numerical target for GDP growth.

An appropriate deficit-to-GDP ratio will help stabilize the Chinese economy, as well as the world economy, Cong said. 

China's overall debt level was 38.5 percent at of the end of 2019, compared with the US' 106 percent, the EU's 80 percent, Japan's 238 percent and India's 69 percent.

Capital raised from local government special bonds will have a designated use in key projects of strategic importance, public projects with the ability to generate some returns, and capital expenditures, according to the NDRC.

According to the latest balance sheet, China's total assets reached 1,302 trillion yuan ($182.66 trillion), which is the result of investments and development over decades, the NDRC said.