China's general public budget revenue grew 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, hitting a three-year high for the January-March period, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

Revenue came in at 6.16 trillion yuan ($901.6 billion), an acceleration of 1.7 percentage points from the January-February level, Wang Jianxun, director of treasury payment center with the ministry, told a news conference.

"This reflects a robust start for the economy in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30)," Wang added.

Tax revenue, a key component of the general public budget revenue, stood at 4.85 trillion yuan, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier, Wang said, noting that an important driver was value-added tax, which climbed 4.9 percent year-on-year, helped by a narrowing decline in producer prices.

On the spending side, according to Wang, the first-quarter budget was executed at a pace not seen in five years.

General public budget expenditure reached 7.47 trillion yuan, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 24.9 percent of the annual budget target, Wang said.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn