‘Get used to tighter belts’: how China’s local governments and Communist Party bodies are embracing cost-cutting culture
- New rules are emerging around use of government vehicles, resource use, unauthorised office printing and bottled water in a push to showcase austerity
- Even officials in tea-producing Fujian province are being told to curb their customary tea time
They vowed to “get used to living a tight life” in every aspect in keeping with Beijing’s persistent call as the country’s economy falters.
The northwestern province of Shaanxi has mandated that new energy vehicles account for at least 40 per cent of newly procured and replaced official vehicles at the provincial level, excluding those for special purposes, according to the official Shaanxi Daily newspaper.
In Fujian province in southeastern China, “personal use of public resources” – such as using office supplies to print test papers and workbooks for the children of employees – should be “resolutely eliminated”, the Changting county education bureau said in a notice to all faculty and staff on Sunday.
“[We should] resolutely wipe out the prolonged practice of sitting around and brewing tea in the office,” it added. Fujian is one of the major tea-producing provinces of China and has a strong tea culture.
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The government office administration of the city of Luan in nearby Anhui province pledged on Sunday to cut the overall number of indoor plants in office areas by one-third, estimating it would save more than 30,000 yuan (over US$4,000) a year.
It also ruled that no agency should use more than three vehicles a day and same-day return was required, except under special circumstances.
Beijing has told both central and local governments to cut spending amid intense downward economic pressure.
At the annual session of the national legislature in 2019, President Xi Jinping said officials should set an example.
“The party and government take the lead in living a tight life, with the purpose of enabling the people to live a good life,” he said.
That call has been repeated many times in recent years, including by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top anticorruption agency.
“Living within tight financial constraints is not a temporary measure or expedient, but a principle and guideline that needs to be adhered to in the long term,” it said on its website in January.
In frugality campaigns across the country, local authorities have vowed to conserve daily resources, promoting water-saving appliances, efficient lighting sources and a paperless working environment.
“Every employee can start by reducing travel expenses, saving water and electricity costs, to truly practise the concept of ‘all costs can be reduced’,” said the party branch of an iron-making plant in Yunnan province in its expense control proposal on Sunday.
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It outlined its cost-cutting goals for the year: a 30 per cent reduction in travel expenses and drinking water costs compared to 2023.
Staff who were planning business trips should prioritise cost-effective transport and book their tickets at least three days in advance to get the lowest prices, it said.
The factory authorities also said they would not approve unnecessary bottled water consumption, and that bottled water would no longer be available during meetings.
