China’s fresh belt-tightening push takes aim at white elephants, lavish meals and flowers

New rules to cut wasteful government spending and projects are ‘most stringent’ since austerity drive first launched in 2013, observer says

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Chinese President Xi Jinping talks to villagers and party cadres during a visit to southwestern Guizhou province in March. Beijing’s first set of austerity measures was issued in November 2013, less than a year after Xi took office. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:26pm, 19 May 2025Updated: 8:45pm, 19 May 2025

White elephant projects, the use of official vehicles, lavish meals and meeting venue decor are all in Beijing’s crosshairs under new rules introduced as part of an intensified government austerity drive.

The latest revised regulations to “implement frugality and cut waste” among party and government bodies were jointly issued by the Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council, or China’s cabinet, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

All regions and ministries had been urged to “conscientiously follow and implement” the regulations, the state news agency said, citing the two top decision-making bodies of China’s ruling party.

All officials should bear in mind that “it’s glorious to save and it’s shameful to waste”, the latest rules say, while urging the party and the government to demonstrate “strict diligence and thrift, and oppose extravagance and waste”, according to the Xinhua report.

An observer described the latest round of tightening as perhaps “the most detailed and stringent” since the austerity campaign was launched 12 years ago.

Analysts said the move reflected Beijing’s growing anxiety over the mounting debts incurred to finance its budget, and its aim to curb potential wasteful spending at various levels of government.

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