Local Government Bond Issuance Reaches RMB 6.61 Trillion in First Seven Months of 2026, New Special Bonds Lag

As of August 2, 2026, total local government bond issuance nationwide stood at approximately RMB 6.61 trillion, of which new special-purpose bonds accounted for RMB 2.41 trillion. Based on the full-year quota of RMB 4.4 trillion, the issuance pace reached about 55%, lower than the 63.1% recorded in the same period of 2025. Regional data show Guangdong ranked first with RMB 287.025 billion, followed by Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui, and Hebei in second to seventh places, with seven provinces each exceeding RMB 100 billion.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, gross domestic product grew 4.7% year on year in the first half of 2026, with second-quarter growth of 4.3%, down 0.7 percentage points from the first quarter. The Politburo meeting held on July 30 stated that macro policy should be strengthened for greater effectiveness, with faster fiscal spending and bond fund utilization, and vigorous promotion of the "two major" construction projects and the "two new" initiatives.

In the second quarter of 2026, issuance of new special-purpose bonds fell 24.5% year on year, and net government bond financing was about RMB 0.9 trillion less than in the same period of 2025. Over the coming months, more than RMB 2 trillion in issuance capacity remains for special-purpose bonds, while RMB 800 billion of new-type policy financial instruments will be gradually allocated to specific projects in transport, water conservancy, energy pipelines, and other areas.