'Thrift is honourable': Chinese officials told to tighten belts to help economy

Bored at a work meeting? For Chinese officials looking to rest their eyes on potted plants adorning conference tables, tough luck: Such plants are now banned.

- Joyce ZK Lim

SHENZHEN - Bored at a work meeting? For Chinese officials looking to rest their eyes on potted plants adorning conference tables, tough luck: Such plants are now banned. So, too, are alcohol and cigarettes at work meals, which might once have been a perk of the job.

China is tightening the screws on the wasteful use of public money, calling once again for officials to cut back and free up more funds for real economic needs.

For the first time in 12 years, it updated on May 18 a set of rules for officials to "strictly practise thrift and combat wasteful spending". This is China's latest move in its long-running austerity drive, which in 2025 has also seen a refresher of the Communist Party's frugality code.

The penny-pinching comes as the world's second-largest economy contends with rising fiscal pressures. Tax revenues are falling, government outlays are rising, and Beijing has to keep one eye on shoring up an economy facing volatile trade headwinds.

"Party and government organisations must take the lead in tightening their belts (guo jin ri zi)," exhorted a front-page commentary in the party's official newspaper on May 19 that accompanied the regulations' release.

The regulations in question were first rolled out in 2013, as part of President Xi Jinping's effort to root out corruption and profligacy across the country.

They apply to a broad swathe of institutions - party, state and legislature included - spelling out how officials should economise on expenses such as official travel, office space and cars.

Among the new updates are instructions to keep work meals, meeting venues and vehicles spartan. High-end dishes, cigarettes and alcohol are not to be served; meeting rooms should not be adorned with flowers, plants or custom-made backdrops; and official cars are not to be outfitted with luxury interiors.