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 that had resulted in snowballing debt. China and the US, its No 1 rival, have each been pursuing their own austerity campaigns to address rising fiscal challenges amid economic pressures and geopolitical tensions. While the US has made drastic cuts to its civil service and public spending, Beijing is doubling down on spending cuts, repeatedly telling officials to “get used to belt-tightening”. Beijing’s first set of austerity measures was issued in November 2013, less than a year after President Xi Jinping took office. The revised measures, which seek to “free up more funds for development needs and people’s livelihood expectations”, include 20 major changes related to official work meals, the use of government cars, study and inspection tours, government office and dormitory decor, and other expenditure. For instance, “no expensive dishes, cigarettes or alcohol shall be provided at work meals”. Officials must also stop all welcoming and sending-off ceremonies during inspection visits by higher authorities, and strictly limit the number of local officials accompanying the inspectors. Extravagant decorations for official reception venues are prohibited, as are group tours disguised as party-building activities or training programmes. Officials must also strictly monitor the number of meetings – avoiding unnecessary ones and merging those that can be merged – so that the rank and file can spend more time on their actual duties, according to the regulations, which were reproduced in full by Xinhua. The meeting venues should be simple, with “no flowers or backdrops” to be used, the measures stipulate. In a stern message to officials who seek to invest in white elephant projects to impress their superiors, cadres at all levels have been ordered to uphold “a correct view of political achievements” and to strictly avoid projects that “waste public money and labour”. Beijing last reinforced its nationwide austerity campaign in March, immediately following the annual “two sessions” meetings of its top legislative and political advisory bodies. The aim was to prevent wasteful spending on unnecessary projects and hires, as well as crack down on officials using public money to fund lavish banquets and upgrade their offices and official cars. As domestic economic growth slows, China must ensure that government officials do not spend money recklessly as that would trigger public anger, a Beijing-based political analyst said. “This revision is perhaps the most detailed and stringent in the regulation’s evolution, incorporating cases of officials failing to comply in the past decade. From the stern wording [to the] comprehensive revisions, we can see that Beijing is very anxious and aware of potential wastage and leakage of money given to various levels of government from debt issuance,” said the analyst, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. “Politically, it is necessary for Beijing to show to all Chinese people that officials are going through this challenging period with the Chinese people and face equal amounts of belt tightening.” Deng Yuwen, a former deputy editor of the Study Times, the official newspaper of the cadre-training Central Party School, said China hoped to use government borrowing wisely as it seeks not to repeat the grim debt problem faced by Washington. The United States is grappling with growing national debt that already exceeds 120 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), as well as persistent budget deficits and rising interest costs, which together pose a risk to long-term economic stability. At the “two sessions” in March, China’s national legislature approved 1.3 trillion yuan (US$182 billion) in ultra-long-term special government bonds, 500 billion yuan in bonds to support capital replenishment for large state-owned commercial banks and 4.4 trillion yuan in bonds to roll over local government debts. Based on budget plans, international rating agency Fitch estimated in a March 7 research report that China’s debt ratio was likely to rise to the “high-60s per cent of GDP”. “Beijing needs to spend these borrowings carefully, so that they can generate economic growth in the next few years, so that it can help government revenue to grow and avoid debts snowballing,” Deng said. “It is a very challenging task.”