China denies fabricated accusation of less spending on livelihood

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Sunday denied an online allegation that China spent little on people’s livelihood.

At a media briefing, Meng Wei, spokesperson of NDRC, refuted the online report titled "Comparison of GDP Projections between China and Major Developed Countries" as “erroneous and purely fabricated.”

The rumor claimed it was published by “United Nations Human Development Program” and said that compared with developed economies, China has higher administrative expenditure and relatively little investment in people’s livelihood.

However, NDRC has checked many times that there was no such institution in the UN system, Meng said.

Moreover, China's expenditure in healthcare, education and science is not lesser than that of developed economies.

For instance, in 2016, China’s investment in healthcare accounts for 6.2 percent of its current GDP, Meng said. The country’s education spending grew 7.9 percent per year from 2012 to 2016. In terms of science, China’s total investment for its research and development has ranked second in the world, only next to the US.

Meanwhile, China’s three kinds of major public expenses -- purchasing and using government cars, overseas trips and official receptions have kept dropping from 7.425 billion yuan (1.178 billion US dollars) in 2012 to 4.825 billion yuan in 2016.

(CGTN)