A highlight of this year's government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening of the Second Session of the 13th National People's Congress on March 5 is reducing enterprises' tax and social insurance contributions by 2 trillion yuan ($297.5 billion). The massive tax reductions will inevitably deplete fiscal revenue, causing great pressure to financial departments at all levels of governments.

To solve the problem, the Central Government will cut its general expenditure by 5 percent and the three public expenditures­—government expenses for overseas trips, food and entertainment, and public vehicles—by 3 percent.

The three public expenditures of Central Government departments have been decreasing for several consecutive years. Local governments have also reduced their expenditures by a large margin. It has become increasingly rare for officials to visit tourist attractions of the cities where they attend a meeting, or stay at luxurious hotels on business trips.

However, although the number of disciplinary violations decreased significantly in 2018, problems such as issuing subsidies in violation of regulations, using public vehicles against the rules, and using public funds for tourism still exist. Extravagance and hedonism are not completely rooted out yet.

The government should increase spending on projects that improve people's livelihood in order to improve their sense of happiness and security while being thrifty itself.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News on March 11)