Local governments' spending sprees create concern

 BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- A new wave of massive spending plans rolled out in recent months by local governments to boost the flagging economy has sparked concerns over wasteful¹ investments and potential local government debt risks.

Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, unveiled its ambitious investment plan late last month, which features a total investment of 829.2 billion yuan (130.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 195 projects ranging from constructing an airport and exhibition halls to renovating² run-down towns.

Before Changsha rolled out its plans, Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, set out favorable policies designed to spur its economy, including stepping up investment efforts.

These plans came as China's central government has shifted its focus to steadying growth amid the slowing economy, which dipped to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the second quarter, and put the public on alert for possible consequences.

"Exhibition centers that have been built in some cities are seldom used," netizen "Robbin-Morgan" commented on the news portal Sina. "They will be a waste."

"yneszhdgd" also voiced his concerns on the blog, writing, "Inadequate³ government funds could hardly cover so many projects. The massive investment plan means the beginning of half-done projects."

Others have warned of industrial overcapacity as investment projects in different regions may overlap⁴.

According to He Zhicheng, an economist⁵ with the Agricultural Bank of China, 21 of the 24 major industrial sectors⁷ have faced serious over-production problems.

"Steel is now even cheaper than cabbage," he said.

Meanwhile, access to funding has been another major problem.

Local governments have seen revenues from land sales tumble due to government policies to curb⁸ the sector⁶, and banks, one of the major financing sources for local governments, remain laden⁹ with bad loans leftover¹⁰ from previous stimulus¹¹ plans, making credit ever harder to obtain.

Statistics from the National Audit¹² Office showed that local government debts had amounted to 10.7 trillion yuan by the end of 2010, exceeding that year's fiscal¹³ revenue.

Given the scale of investment plans, the pile-up of local government debts was inevitable¹⁴.

Zhou Lianjun, deputy head of the financing office of the Changsha municipal government, said the city's financial support will be provided by both banks and local governments, and there is "no need to overreact to debt worries."

Liu Shangxi, deputy chief of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the Ministry¹⁵ of Finance, said the investment and debt scales were not something to be dreaded¹⁶, and the key lies in the transparency that would allow the public to supervise and contain the debt within a controllable range.

"The public has the right to know the sources and destinations of funding in order to prevent corruption," he said.

1 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

2 renovating   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The increased production was largely attained by renovating old orchards and vineyards. 通过更新老果园和葡萄园，使生产大大增加。
• Renovating that house will cost you a pretty penny. 为了整修那所房子，你得花很多钱。

3 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

4 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

11 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

12 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

13 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

14 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》