China's central gov't cuts travel, vehicles, receptions budget
三公经费引关注大幅减少

Since taking office, China's new leadership has always put frugality as its work priority. The Ministry of Finance has recently published the central government's expenditures on trips, cars and receptions in 2013, as well as the budget for this year.

According to the Ministry of Finance, China’s central government expenditures on overseas trips, vehicles, and receptions stood at nearly 7.2 billion Yuan or 1.1 billion US dollars in 2013, a 3.6 percent drop from the previous year.

Spending on vehicle purchases and maintenance accounted for 60 percent of the total, while overseas travel accounted for 24 percent. The central government also spent some 1 point 2 billion yuan on receptions.

Li Yan, Director of Gov't Budget Institute, Central Univ. of Finance and Economics, said, "The ministry is publishing these expense figures annually, because in the past, there have always been problems and questions on these spending categories. Now the government aims to cut unnecessary spending, and put that money towards more important matters, such as supporting people's livelihoods."

The ministry has cut this year's budget for trips, vehicles and receptions to 7.151 billion yuan, 10 percent less than the budget set for last year. Experts say, cutting numbers is not the only goal.

Li said, "We need to establish a long-term mechanism and a standardized system to regulate government expenses. It should meet the needs of government functions, and at the same time be open to public supervision."

Experts also say, expenses of local governments need to be trimmed. But cutting expenses is not only the job for financial administrations, but needs the joint effort of all related government departments.