26 March 2009

China slashes hospitality budgets

BEIJING ââ¬' China has ordered its public sector employees to cut out overseas business travel.

In a raft of measures the Chinese government is cracking down on official "hospitality" budgets.

Premier Wen said the government should take the leading role in promoting frugality and should ensure government spending goes where it is most needed amid the economic crisis.

Wen ordered an across-the-board halt to the building of any new office compounds before the end of 2010, or any glitzy buildings in the names of training centres, hotels, or government motels.

State officials have agreed to strictly control the government's "hospitality" money used for receiving guests, the car-buying and fuel budgets, and officials' overseas tours using public money.

Government watchdogs are demanding savings of up to 20 percent in the officials' overseas tours budgets compared to the average spending of the past three years.

Spending on meetings and ceremonies by the government should also be reduced, they said.

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