CCDI spending on meetings falls by 84 percent

A report from the top discipline body of the Communist Party of China (CPC) released on its official website on Monday showed "extravagant" spending on meetings and travel have dropped significantly this year from last year.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said its expenditure on meetings this year was down by 84.06 percent as compared to last year and the number of officials traveling abroad fell 16.8 percent. The body turned down invitations for four international conferences this year, it said.

CCDI held only three national conferences in 2013 and both the scale and length of the conferences were strictly controlled to reduce the cost, according to the statement.

The number of government documents has also been reduced from 41 categories to 18 categories, a 56 percent fall from the previous year, it said.

Between January and August, CCDI had reduced the amount of paper documents sent to other government departments, showing a 60.9 percent decline from the same period last year.

The expenditures on catering fell by 52.07 percent and those on training by 37.87 percent and on printing by 13.49 percent.

Also this year, 125 agencies under the CCDI were cut down to 39. Departments with similar functions were combined to boost efficiency, the statement added.

CCDI reported that all of its employees have signed the affidavit guaranteeing that they no longer hold membership cards of clubs or shopping centers. The move is to set an example in a campaign initiated by the CCDI this year that urged all Party members to turn down membership cards in an effort to curb corruption.

The CCDI's action is central to President Xi Jinping's efforts to root out graft from China, a move which in the past few months has seen a number of high-profile officials being brought to justice for violations of discipline and the law.