(Ecns.cn) -- A total of 27 out of 98 central government departments disclosed their expenses for "overseas trips, vehicles and receptions," also known as the "three public consumptions," on July 17, effectively releasing the information over the weekend, which has raised the eyebrows of some experts.
The departments included the Ministries of Commerce, Supervision, Health, Transport, Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the State Intellectual Property Office and the Development Research Center of the State Council.
Budgets go up, not down
Many of the central departments have raised their 2011 budgets for the "three public consumptions" compared to 2010, including the Ministries of Finance, Culture, Civil Affairs, Education, the State Auditing Administration, and the State Cultural Relics Bureau.
Though the State Council has repeatedly called on its ministries to reduce wasteful practices and achieve zero growth, increased budgets continue to be the trend.
For example, the 2011 budget for overseas trips by the Ministry of Finance has been increased by more than 6 million yuan ($927,600) compared to 2010. The ministry has claimed three reasons for this.
The first is that the 2010 Strategic and Economic Dialogue between China and the US, as well as the Economic and Financial Dialogue between China and the UK, were both held here. The 2011 sessions, however, are to be hosted by the US and the UK, causing a large increase in the budget for international flights and accommodation for the Chinese delegation.
The second reason is that the number of overseas tasks and conferences resulting from the bilateral financial dialogues between China and Japan, China and Russia, China and Brazil, and China and India are to be higher in 2011.
The third reason, according to the Ministry, is because increasing tariff negotiations and negotiations over government procurement agreements will also increase costs this year.
