China's top finance official said more effort is needed to meet the country's fiscal revenue target for this year.

Delivering a State Council report to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said that China's fiscal expenditures rose 13.6 percent in the first five months of the year. That far outstripped an 8.3 percent rise in fiscal revenue.

Lou said the the economy is generally stable but faces downward pressures. The finance minister vowed to improve financial macro-economic policies, focusing on supply-side structural reforms and boosting demand.