Govt budgets alone must be used for buildings, new rules stipulate

The use of "donations" to fund the construction of government office buildings has been banned under new rules released on Monday by the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council.

There have been cases where a company contributed money toward the construction of government buildings with the expectation of receiving favorable treatment in the future. The new rules bring that practice to an end.

Funding for government office buildings must come from the government's budget, the rules stipulate. Governments may no longer accept donations, raise funds, borrow from other departments or shift money from other projects for office buildings.