China's fiscal revenue up 9.3%

China's fiscal revenue climbed 9.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2014 to reach 3.5 trillion yuan (568.71 billion U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Thursday. Central government revenue stood at 1.55 trillion yuan, up 6.4 percent year on year. Local government revenue stood at 1.95 trillion yuan, up 11.8 percent from the same period last year, the MOF said. However, last month saw a year-on-year decline of 1.4 percent in central fiscal revenue as a result of slowing economic growth and increasing export tax rebates, according to the MOF. The country's fiscal expenditure in the first three months rose 12.6 percent from the same period last year to 3.04 trillion yuan, the ministry said. From January to March, double-digit expenditure growth was realized in agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, social security, employment, medical care and education.