THE CHINESE central government has issued a warning to provincial governments about misusing government funds to host meetings with foreign delegates in their hometowns.
Local industry players at the China (Shanghai) International Meetings & Conference Forum on Tuesday told IT&CM China Daily that the warning came after some provincial government officials were found to have used government funds to conduct fancy parties on the pretext of hosting such meetings.
As understood by the Daily, officials would attend the parties, but no beneficial trade interactions were made with the foreign guests.
Patrick Chen, international deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, explained: “All government and association meetings are required to obtain approval from the central government before funds are disbursed. The central government will now pay greater attention to applications for hosting these ‘international’ meetings.”
Liu Ping, CEO of Beijing-based Star China Professional Program, added: “Such ‘international’ meetings have poor programmes and are a waste of time for the foreign delegates. They reflect badly on the provinces involved.”
But industry sources said these renegade events were not new.
Liu said: “Such problems could appear to be more prominent, as more cities in China are eager to be part of the MICE wave that has hit key cities.
“Every province is eager to hold meetings, but there are no clear standards. That’s why the government has to exert control.”
The industry welcomed the clampdown.
The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Asia-Pacific regional director, Noor Ahmad Hamid, said: “Stricter controls will weed out false events and benefit China’s meetings industry.”
International hotel groups operating in China that were interviewed, such as the Millennium & Copthorne and Sol Melia, said government events held at their hotels were the real thing, with most being trade forums, so they expected little or no impact.
Two years ago, the central government also slapped stricter compliance policies on official business travel expenditure.
