China's fiscal revenues grew by 13.3 percent in the first half of 2023 from a year ago, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. 

At a news conference, Xue Xiaoqian, a MOF official, said that from January to June this year, China's fiscal revenue came in at 11.92 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion). Fiscal spending over the same period totaled 13.4 trillion yuan, up by 3.9 percent yearly.

From January to June, tax revenue increased by 16.5 percent year-on-year, with domestic value-added tax (VAT) growing by 96 percent. 

Noting that such a fiscal revenue growth is relatively high, Xue said the growth not only benefits from the country's economic recovery but was moreover influenced by the base effect of the large-scale VAT deferral and refund since last April, resulting in a significant increase in tax refunds.