China orders military to keep barracks simple, guard against excess

China ordered its military on Tuesday to build barracks as simply and economically as possible and avoid using ostentatious or imported building materials, as part of a broader crackdown on graft and excess.

China’s armed forces, the world’s largest, have become a focus of President Xi Jinping’s campaign to root out deeply-ingrained graft including bribery, which often takes the form of lavish gifts to officials or extravagant spending of government funds.

The guidelines on construction were in line with demands for the military to be thrifty and “guard against luxury”, the Defence Ministry said in an update to building rules carried on its website.

Colours used should be sober, plain and uniform, and new barracks must be well-connected to the Internet and be energy efficient, it said.

“Materials used should be economical, last a long time, look good and be useable,” the ministry said. “High-end materials and luxurious construction is banned; put priority on using Chinese products, and high-end products from abroad are banned.”

The anti-graft drive in the military comes as Xi steps up efforts to modernise forces that are projecting power across the disputed waters of the East and South China Seas, though China has not fought a war in decades.