Foreign experts watchdog tightens overseas training programs

The number of applicants approved by China's State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for its official overseas training programs shrank 32 percent compared with the number in 2012, according to the administration.

Zhang Jianguo, head of the administration, revealed the news at a Thursday meeting, but didn't offer a specific figure for the number who received training.

The administration, which is responsible for managing the affairs of foreign experts working in China, also oversees officially-sanctioned overseas training for people working in government organs, state-owned enterprises and public service groups.

Zhang said the decrease was the result of tightened application and approval procedures, streamlined training courses and the principle that trainees must be selected in accordance with the fields of training.

The move came amid China's anti-waste battle launched in December 2012, when the new leadership pledged measures to improve officials' work style and reject extravagance and bureaucracy in a bid to win the people's trust and support.

Overseas trips by officials have long been a point of public concern as many actually serve as vacations, despite being financed by public money and in the name of study or inspection.

According to Zhang, the administration will strengthen the management of overseas training this year with strict but efficient approval procedures.