Chinese government issues directives to departments on public spending

BEIJING: The Chinese government has issued a deadline to its departments to disclose spending on parties, vehicles and overseas trips to ensure compliance with an austerity drive launched by the new President Xi Jinping.

Seeking to promote transparencies in governance, the new directive issued by the central cabinet has also asked the departments to furnish information on investigations into major accidents.

Provincial governments should disclose their spending on the said three items starting from 2013, and municipal and county governments should strive to disclose such information by 2015, according to the directive.

Moreover, investigation reports on major accidents should be fully disclosed to the public starting from 2014, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The cabinet has identified nine categories of information as priorities in promoting government transparency, including information on administrative examinations and approvals, budgeting and government expenses on receptions, vehicles and overseas trips and subsidised housing.

Other categories include food and drug safety, environmental protection, production safety, pricing and charging, land appropriation and demolition, and public welfare institutions and enterprises, in particular, and the education sector.

After taking over in March, Xi, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party, launched an austerity campaign both in the government and the military, banning lavish dinners with alcohol in five-star hotels as well as using luxury vehicles and overseas trips.

It is not clear whether the disclosures would be put in the public domain.