Gao Peiyong: Emphasize "Financial Scientific Management"

Topic: China Macroeconomic Forum (CMF)2026

The CMF quarterly forum (First quarter of 2026) was held on April 4th. The theme was “Pragmatic and Progressive China’s Macroeconomy.” Academician Gao Peiyong of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences emphasized the importance of “fiscal scientific management.”

Gao Peiyong proposed that, first, the government must manage finances wisely. It cannot only ask about projects without considering money, only discuss benefits without considering costs. He said, “In our macroeconomic analysis, we always say we need to increase efforts, but while proposing such policy suggestions, we must also say what costs we will pay to increase efforts. Especially when costs and benefits clash, we must calculate whether the costs are greater or the benefits are greater. Not doing so is clearly unacceptable.”

Second, the “tight budgeting” of government departments is a normal state. He emphasized that government departments’ “tight budgeting” should not be treated as a temporary measure or a stopgap. Nor should it be just talk without action. “End-of-year rush spending, spending just for the sake of spending, should be highly alert to, and should be positioned from the perspective of overall high-quality development.”

Third, budget performance evaluation should not be limited to investment projects; other government projects should also undergo budget performance evaluation. “The ‘Government Work Report’ and ‘Budget Report’ specifically call for expanding fiscal management to cover the entire chain of fund use and all budget units. Business processes should be continuously optimized, and expenditure standards should be more sound,” he said.

Fourth, in the process of shifting from “investment in physical assets” to “investment in people,” particular attention must be paid to fiscal scientific management, which is an urgent and very important issue to address.

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Editor: Liang Bin SF055