In China, it is a tradition now scrutinized closely: official banquets. Holidays that often overflow with excess, with heavy additions, which are doing bad gender in a country that cultivates an image of sobriety by hunting waste.
Last March, in Xinyang, in the province of Henan, in the center of China, a framework of the Communist Party died after drinking an entire bottle of Baijiu, an alcohol titling 65 %! Four other people were hospitalized after this lunch far too watered. The case caused an uproar and the regime severely punished a dozen participants, who were excluded from the party. From now on, it is the dry regime which is essential to everyone.
Beijing has launched a large austerity campaign in the wake of this case for “Fighting luxury and hedonism” Among its executives. Are prohibited now: alcohol, too generous dishes and decorations deemed “Ostentators”, Like the imposing floral compositions that decorate public buildings. Private use of official vehicles is also strictly prohibited as well as wearing a luxury watch or a scratched bag.
Salve at half mast
Faced with soft growth, a persistent real estate crisis and unemployment of records (16.9 % in February 2025), Xi Jinping wants to put the state back to work. The Central Commission for Discipline (CCDI), a sort of political police police, sent a reminder to order to the 100 million members of the Communist Party calling for zero tolerance. The party is over, you must now show the example and tighten your belt. A new code of conduct has been published and largely publicized in the campaign “Glorious frugality”.
This is not the first time that the party has been shooting red balls on the excesses of its frames. Nearly 313,000 sanctions were pronounced last year for violation of ” code of Conduct “twice as much as in 2023.
“But updating the code of good conduct will not resolve the budgetary challenges in which Beijing faces”estimates Neil Thomas, expert in the Asia Society Policy Institute. There will be many savings, but the goal is to show the example and, “Above all, this strengthens the political control of Xi Jinping and consolidates its anti-corruption, anti-Luxe, at a time when ordinary Chinese people suffer economically”.
Compulsory readings for civil servants
This frugality imposed by the Chinese president is not limited to wallets. Under its conduct, the regime thus imposed compulsory readings on civil servants and members of the party focused on the discipline. Among them, four collections of Xi Jinping speeches and a dozen internal regulations which notably proscribe official meetings in tourist places or the purchase of fireworks for the New Year.
In this new era of austerity, the slightest yuan is scrutinized closely and the budgetary rigor is essential to the most remote provinces in the country. 21 provincial governments had to revise their expenses related to official vehicles.
In Guizhou, the governor promised a 15 % cut in the operating costs of his administration. And in the Hunan, a party manager urged his colleagues to become “Red Intendants”in reference to the revolutionary origins of the party, to embody a sober and disciplined management. And watch out for the offenders: after the exclusion of the party, it is the prison that awaits them.
This image of simplicity is cultivated at the highest peak of the state. The all-powerful Chinese president appears as a man of the terroir, close to the people, and the official press reminds him of hagiographic articles and documentaries. Consequence: the luxury sector saw its sales melt in China by 20 % in 2024, with forecasts still down for 2025. China is no longer the Empire of Bling-bling.
