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China’s Central Government has drawn up a budget of nearly 7.97 billion yuan （$1.29 billion） for official receptions， overseas trips and vehicles in 2013， 126 million yuan （$20 million） less than the amount spent in 2012， following the government’s vow to clamp down on extravagance.
On April 18， the Ministry of Finance （MOF） published a document online revealing that the government plans to spend nearly 2.14 billion yuan （$347 million） on overseas trips， around 4.4 billion yuan （$714 million） on government vehicles， and some 1.43 billion yuan （$232 million） on official receptions.
The figures show that spending on public receptions this year will drop the most among the three， which decreased 64 million yuan （$10 million）， or 4.3 percent from last year.
The MOF also revealed that departments under the Central Government and organizations that receive public funds spent 8.1 billion yuan （$1.31 billion） on the so-called “three public expenses” in 2012.
“Based on the positive gestures made by the central authority， there is no way this year’s spending will go up，” said Ye Qing， Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Statistics and a long-time advocate for reform of the use of government vehicles.
On March 17， Premier Li Keqiang promised that public spending in the cabinet would decrease during his debut press conference after the First Session of the 12th National People’s Congress， the country’s top legislature.
“It is astonishing that officials spend so much money on vehicles each year. Reform is imminent，” Ye said.
In an interview with Xinhua News Agency， Bai Jingming， Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the MOF， said that the negative growth in the Central Government’s fiscal revenue during the first quarter of this year also reminded the government that it has to “tighten its belt.”
“The government should voluntarily cut official spending so as to direct limited fiscal funds to the most needed sectors，” Bai said.
According to a statement published by the MOF on April 15， the Central Government collected 1.46 trillion yuan （$237 billion） in fiscal revenue in the first three months of this year， down 0.2 percent year on year.
Leading by example
Gou Yannan， a professor of public finances at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Shanghai-based Fudan University， attributes the reduction in central budget on the“three public expenses” to the ongoing efforts to reform the style of governance in China. On December 4， 2012， the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced eight measures at a meeting to reduce extravagance and curb bureaucracy， including an end to lavish receptions， less spending on officials’trips and smaller entourages in overseas visits.
Wang Yukai， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance， said the eight requirements aimed at dealing with longstanding complaints from the public.
“They showcased a strong determination of the top leadership to fight chronic and lingering problems within the Party，” Wang said.
The Political Bureau’s meeting also required disciplinary and auditing authorities to play their role in ensuring the implementation of the eight measures at various levels.
The National Audit Office said in January that it had made a detailed plan to check government departments in order to implement the requirements.
It ordered local authorities to prioritize the auditing of funds appropriated for government departments at all levels for meetings， receptions， overseas trips and vehicle purchases.
The MOF also vowed to keep improving its management of the “three public expenses，”make the budget plans of Central Government departments more specific， and strictly control the scale of such budgets.
Hunting for details
As of April 19， more than 80 departments under the Central Government had also posted their 2012 budget execution and 2013 budgets for the “three public expenses” online. Most of the departments projected less spending， citing the central authority’s call for thrift.
For example， the National Development and Reform Commission set its 2013“three public expenses” budget at 39.44 million yuan （$6 million）， 3.84 million yuan（$623，000） less than the previous year’s amount. The Ministry of Science and Technology cut its 2013 budget by 1 million yuan （$162，000） from its 2012 budget.
Departments that unveiled rising budgets clarified the reasons on their websites.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission and other departments that are being restructured will not be included in this round’s disclosure， the MOF said. They will only release their budget sheets after the reshuffle is finished.
This is the fourth year that Central Government departments and publicly funded authorities have published their budgets since the introduction of rules on disclosing government spending in 2008. This year， the release of budgetary data concerning the “three public expenses” came several months earlier than in previous years. However， while agreeing that the decrease in the “three public expenses” was a positive sign， Ye said that the release of the figures is still not transparent enough due to inadequate itemization of individual expenditures.
“We haven’t been told the number of government vehicles or groups on overseas trips， nor the expenditure of each group，” Ye said.“Clearly， the spending is going down， but we still don’t know whether the current expenditures are reasonable.”
Many people have also gone online to express dissatisfaction with the reports， saying that they lack an adequate amount of detail.
For example， the National Development and Reform Commission spent 4 million yuan（$649，000） more than it budgeted for the “three public expenses” last year.
The commission explained that the extra expenditures were for overseas trips related to extra assignments given by the State Council， China’s cabinet.
Zhu Lijia， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance， said that the overspending shows that the budgets were not strictly implemented.
“Without a detailed explanation for the overspending， the Budget Law will lose its power，” Zhu said.
Experts said that there is significant room for improvement in compiling budgets， as specific items are rarely listed in line with current rules. For example， only the total number of official vehicles is revealed， while new auto purchases are not detailed.
Without the possibility of exercising oversight down to the level of individuals who use official vehicles， merely revealing the combined total tells nothing， critics said.
Some critics also argued that actual government spending on the “three public expenses” could be greater than disclosed， as many government departments and public institutions reimburse a large part of such expenditures， using funds collected from revenue sources outside of fiscal appropriation.
Authorities have failed to update annual official data regarding the total amount spent on official receptions， overseas trips and vehicles since 2004， when officials stated that 120.1 billion yuan （$19 billion） was spent on the items.
In 2006， Wang Xixin， a professor at Peking University， estimated the total expenses on the three items to be around 900 billion yuan （$146 billion）， a claim that was denied in an article on People’s Daily on April 19.
According to the People’s Daily article， the estimates are not based on concrete evidence. It did not offer its own figures for the spending.
“The point of the matter is not about raising or reducing the ‘three public expenses’，”blogged user Laoyu Kaibo on Sina Weibo， the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. “What really matters is whether taxpayers’ money is used properly， legally and transparently.”
On April 18， the Ministry of Finance （MOF） published a document online revealing that the government plans to spend nearly 2.14 billion yuan （$347 million） on overseas trips， around 4.4 billion yuan （$714 million） on government vehicles， and some 1.43 billion yuan （$232 million） on official receptions.
The figures show that spending on public receptions this year will drop the most among the three， which decreased 64 million yuan （$10 million）， or 4.3 percent from last year.
The MOF also revealed that departments under the Central Government and organizations that receive public funds spent 8.1 billion yuan （$1.31 billion） on the so-called “three public expenses” in 2012.
“Based on the positive gestures made by the central authority， there is no way this year’s spending will go up，” said Ye Qing， Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Statistics and a long-time advocate for reform of the use of government vehicles.
On March 17， Premier Li Keqiang promised that public spending in the cabinet would decrease during his debut press conference after the First Session of the 12th National People’s Congress， the country’s top legislature.
“It is astonishing that officials spend so much money on vehicles each year. Reform is imminent，” Ye said.
In an interview with Xinhua News Agency， Bai Jingming， Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the MOF， said that the negative growth in the Central Government’s fiscal revenue during the first quarter of this year also reminded the government that it has to “tighten its belt.”
“The government should voluntarily cut official spending so as to direct limited fiscal funds to the most needed sectors，” Bai said.
According to a statement published by the MOF on April 15， the Central Government collected 1.46 trillion yuan （$237 billion） in fiscal revenue in the first three months of this year， down 0.2 percent year on year.
Leading by example
Gou Yannan， a professor of public finances at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Shanghai-based Fudan University， attributes the reduction in central budget on the“three public expenses” to the ongoing efforts to reform the style of governance in China. On December 4， 2012， the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced eight measures at a meeting to reduce extravagance and curb bureaucracy， including an end to lavish receptions， less spending on officials’trips and smaller entourages in overseas visits.
Wang Yukai， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance， said the eight requirements aimed at dealing with longstanding complaints from the public.
“They showcased a strong determination of the top leadership to fight chronic and lingering problems within the Party，” Wang said.
The Political Bureau’s meeting also required disciplinary and auditing authorities to play their role in ensuring the implementation of the eight measures at various levels.
The National Audit Office said in January that it had made a detailed plan to check government departments in order to implement the requirements.
It ordered local authorities to prioritize the auditing of funds appropriated for government departments at all levels for meetings， receptions， overseas trips and vehicle purchases.
The MOF also vowed to keep improving its management of the “three public expenses，”make the budget plans of Central Government departments more specific， and strictly control the scale of such budgets.
Hunting for details
As of April 19， more than 80 departments under the Central Government had also posted their 2012 budget execution and 2013 budgets for the “three public expenses” online. Most of the departments projected less spending， citing the central authority’s call for thrift.
For example， the National Development and Reform Commission set its 2013“three public expenses” budget at 39.44 million yuan （$6 million）， 3.84 million yuan（$623，000） less than the previous year’s amount. The Ministry of Science and Technology cut its 2013 budget by 1 million yuan （$162，000） from its 2012 budget.
Departments that unveiled rising budgets clarified the reasons on their websites.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission and other departments that are being restructured will not be included in this round’s disclosure， the MOF said. They will only release their budget sheets after the reshuffle is finished.
This is the fourth year that Central Government departments and publicly funded authorities have published their budgets since the introduction of rules on disclosing government spending in 2008. This year， the release of budgetary data concerning the “three public expenses” came several months earlier than in previous years. However， while agreeing that the decrease in the “three public expenses” was a positive sign， Ye said that the release of the figures is still not transparent enough due to inadequate itemization of individual expenditures.
“We haven’t been told the number of government vehicles or groups on overseas trips， nor the expenditure of each group，” Ye said.“Clearly， the spending is going down， but we still don’t know whether the current expenditures are reasonable.”
Many people have also gone online to express dissatisfaction with the reports， saying that they lack an adequate amount of detail.
For example， the National Development and Reform Commission spent 4 million yuan（$649，000） more than it budgeted for the “three public expenses” last year.
The commission explained that the extra expenditures were for overseas trips related to extra assignments given by the State Council， China’s cabinet.
Zhu Lijia， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance， said that the overspending shows that the budgets were not strictly implemented.
“Without a detailed explanation for the overspending， the Budget Law will lose its power，” Zhu said.
Experts said that there is significant room for improvement in compiling budgets， as specific items are rarely listed in line with current rules. For example， only the total number of official vehicles is revealed， while new auto purchases are not detailed.
Without the possibility of exercising oversight down to the level of individuals who use official vehicles， merely revealing the combined total tells nothing， critics said.
Some critics also argued that actual government spending on the “three public expenses” could be greater than disclosed， as many government departments and public institutions reimburse a large part of such expenditures， using funds collected from revenue sources outside of fiscal appropriation.
Authorities have failed to update annual official data regarding the total amount spent on official receptions， overseas trips and vehicles since 2004， when officials stated that 120.1 billion yuan （$19 billion） was spent on the items.
In 2006， Wang Xixin， a professor at Peking University， estimated the total expenses on the three items to be around 900 billion yuan （$146 billion）， a claim that was denied in an article on People’s Daily on April 19.
According to the People’s Daily article， the estimates are not based on concrete evidence. It did not offer its own figures for the spending.
“The point of the matter is not about raising or reducing the ‘three public expenses’，”blogged user Laoyu Kaibo on Sina Weibo， the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. “What really matters is whether taxpayers’ money is used properly， legally and transparently.”