Why has fiscal spending decreased for two consecutive months? The contraction effect must be avoided during policy implementation.

**　　[Caixin] ** The original arrangement for fiscal policy in 2026 was not contractionary, but adopted a "more proactive" policy orientation. However, recent data on the main indicator measuring fiscal policy strength--fiscal expenditure figures--has not reflected this orientation, sparking considerable discussion. Since 2026, despite a significant recovery in fiscal revenue, the growth rate of fiscal expenditure has been relatively slow, with year-on-year declines for two consecutive months in April and May. Why has this phenomenon occurred?

According to data released by the Ministry of Finance on June 22, in May 2026, the narrow-caliber fiscal expenditure, i.e., national general public budget expenditure, fell by 1.6% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 1.6 percentage points compared to April. Due to two consecutive months of expenditure declines, cumulative expenditure in the first five months reached 11.39 trillion yuan, a marginal year-on-year increase of only 0.8%.