More curbs on ‘three public consumptions’

Beijing government has announced it plans to prohibit further purchases of official cars and reduce spending on overseas travel and on receptions, known as the "three public consumptions."

Beijing Municipal Bureau of Finance announced that more government departments in the city would be included in the disclosure of figures of the "three public consumptions."

"This move is partly to answer the call to promote thrift and oppose squander," said Liu Gang, media officer of the bureau Thursday.

This year, 87 government departments will be included in the move, the Beijing Times reported Thursday. The bureau said 78 departments were included in 2012, and 44 in 2011.

Zhu Lijia, a professor of public administration with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said although disclosing the figures is a good thing, the fundamental issue is to make government spending more transparent.

"The essential thing is to make every spending item of the department reflected in the budget, so it's transparent and the public can exercise supervision. Even if the figure is released, it's unsure whether the department has its own private coffer," he said.

Duan Jinping, media officer of the Beijing Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration and Development Bureau, said disclosing the "three public consumptions" represents the general trend of the times.

"It pushes government departments to make everything operate out in the open. But now the categories of the 'three public consumptions' are too general, so it would be more transparent and sensible if it's more specific," he said.

Beijing municipal government spent 158.47 million yuan ($25.5 million) on overseas travel, 9.05 million yuan on receptions and 611.26 million yuan on buying and maintaining cars in 2011, the finance bureau reported on its website on July 27, 2012.