New rules ready to curb govt spending

BEIJING - Regulations on management of government offices will come into effect on Monday, China's National Day, aiming to rein in extravagant expenditures.

The regulations, with six chapters and 35 clauses, urge both central and local governments to formulate reception criteria, by which government organs should abide strictly.

They demand management of meetings be strengthened to cut public spending. Governments should control the quantity, scale and duration of government meetings, under the regulations.

Governments are also required to strengthen management of officials' overseas travel, checking the necessity, itinerary and duration of these trips.

The State Council, or China's Cabinet, passed the regulations in June to match public expectations for transparency concerning public funds spent on receptions, vehicles and overseas trips by officials.

National Day will also see four other rules taking effect, concerning drug safety, food safety, coal mine work safety and education supervision,

According to the new regulations on drug safety, those who have their licenses revoked for producing or selling fake or inferior medicines, and those who produce medical devices without registration or those who produce or sell inferior medical devices will be blacklisted.

The regulations on management of the green food accreditation, which was recently revised by the Ministry of Agriculture, tightens qualification procedures for applicants, taking into account more factors, including food production and processing levels, raw material base construction, as well as quality control level.

The regulations on coalminer team safety give more decision-making power to coalmine team leaders when faced with potential safety hazard. Team leaders are entitled to inspect working conditions, and can stop production if they think the conditions are not up to safety standards.

According to regulations on educational inspection, Governments will appoint inspectors to supervise and assess the practices of schools and educational institutions. Governments above county level shall bear responsibilities to supervise the implementation of law and regulations concerning education of their lower governments.