Chinese gov't departments to give more detailed accounts

BEIJING - Chinese central government departments on Friday began to publish details of their expenditures in 2014, the fifth year of such disclosures and the first with details mandated by new budget law this year.

The new budget law requires departments to publicize their spending of fiscal funds allocated by central authorities on procurement, organization operational cost and use of state-owned assets, along with previous details of spending on receptions, vehicles and overseas trips, also known as "the three public consumptions."

The All-China Journalists Association, which was the first to release such figures, spent 4.5 million yuan ($740,000) on organization operational cost, down 8.17 percent from 2013. Its spending on government procurement hit 2.55 million yuan, including 2.2 million yuan on government service procurement. It spent 6.08 million yuan on salaries and other benefits for employees.

Administrative fees, such as fees on conferences and training, and government procurement information have attracted much attention, much of it negative. Publicizing the information should increase public satisfaction with government activities.

Central government departments spent 5.88 billion yuan on "the three public consumptions" last year, down 16.2 percent from the previous year and 17.8 percent under budget, according to the Ministry of Finance, which attributed the drops to cuts in waste and extravagance.