Various Chinese government entities have allocated $16 billion in coronavirus-related funding as of March 4, Vice Finance Minister Xu Hongcai said at a press briefing today.

China would ensure the smooth operation of local governments amid the coronavirus outbreak and that the finance ministry will ensure the funding needs of Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, Xu was quoted as saying by Reuters.

He warned that the outbreak could temporarily affect the government’s revenues but he expected the pressure on the government’s fiscal position to ease as the economy recovered.

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