China’s budget deficit continued to contract so far this year, as government revenue grew from a favorable comparison base in Covid-hit 2022 while spending declined. The broadest measure of the fiscal gap — the so-called augmented deficit — was 6.96 trillion yuan ($980 billion) in the first 11 months of this year, down 10.2% from the same period last year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday. Total revenue rose 2.6% on year to 25.2 trillion yuan in the period, while spending was down 0.5% in the period to 32.2 trillion yuan. Land sales revenue was 4.2 ... (full story)