Shenzhen's expenditure for enhancing people's well-being in nine major categories like education and health exceeded 331 billion yuan (US$46 billion) in 2023, accounting for 66% of its total fiscal spending.
Government spending in education surpassed 100 billion yuan, according to a government work report delivered by Mayor Qin Weizhong at the opening meeting of the annual session of the city's legislature Tuesday.
The city spent 61.91 billion yuan last year to improve medical health services.
More than 21.4 billion yuan was spent on supplying government-subsidized affordable housing, and more than 30.3 billion yuan was spent on guaranteeing social benefits and employment.
The city's culture, sports, and tourism sectors and media industry witnessed an investment of about 12.75 billion yuan, according to the report.
In 2023, the city's general public budget revenue exceeded 1.06 trillion yuan, including 653.2 billion yuan of central budget revenue and 411.2 billion yuan of local budget revenue.
The city demonstrated strong support for technological innovation, the real economy, and the development of small and micro enterprises by fully implementing the national policies of tax reduction and fee reduction.
Shenzhen issued up to 5 billion yuan of offshore RMB local government bonds in Hong Kong last year, making it the first local government on the Chinese mainland to do so.
In 2024, the city's expenditure on people's well-being will continue to increase. It will allocate 66.8% of the total fiscal expenditure to nine categories of expenditure aimed to improve people's well-being.
Shenzhen will prioritize creating a more livable environment for residents, including the completion of 15 ecological corridor projects and 40 special trails this year. The city aims to construct and renovate 300 kilometers of greenways, 150 kilometers of ecological ways, and 30 parks.
The city also plans to add 8,000 new hospital beds and establish two new medical centers, 10 research-oriented hospitals, and more than 35 new community clinics in 2024.