Chinese finance minister hints at increasing the deficit at highly anticipated briefing

China's Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an told reporters Saturday during a highly anticipated press briefing that the central government has room to increase debt and the deficit.

He emphasized that the space for a deficit increase is "rather large," but noted such policies are still under discussion, according to CNBC's translation of the Chinese.

KEY POINTS:
1. China's Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an told reporters during a briefing that the central government has room for a deficit increase, but noted such policies are still under discussion.
2. Economists have said China needs additional fiscal support, but Beijing has yet to announce any.
3. Analyst projections for how much fiscal stimulus is needed range from around 2 trillion yuan ($283.1 billion) to more than 10 trillion yuan.