The Central Government will spend less on overseas visits, vehicles and receptions this year, authorities said on Thursday.

The Central Government will spend 7.97 billion yuan ($1.28 billion) on such expenses in 2013, down 126 million yuan ($20.24 million) from its actual spending in 2012, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.

Spending on the three fields is known as the "three public consumptions." Premier Li Keqiang vowed in March to keep such expenditures from expanding during his tenure.

The 2013 budget will include 2.14 billion yuan ($345.82 million) for overseas trips, 4.4 billion yuan ($711.04 million) for the purchase and maintenance of government vehicles and 1.43 billion yuan ($231.09 million) for official receptions, according to the MOF.

In 2012, the central government spent 111 million yuan ($17.94 million) more than its original budget on such items.

Overspending last year was caused by the State Post Bureau setting up postal monitoring institutions at levels below the provincial level, according to an official with the ministry.

The MOF will strictly follow the Central Government's requirements, the official added.

Several departments under the Central Government made their budgets for the three expenditures public on Thursday, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST).

The exposure of their budgets marked a change, as Central Government departments usually reveal their budgets in July along with final accounting for revenues and expenditures, the MOF source said.

Most departments have cut their spending on the three expenditures as part of a frugality campaign launched by the government in December that prohibits officials and military officers from engaging in extravagant behavior.

The NDRC set its 2013 "three public consumptions" budget at 39.44 million yuan ($6.37 million), 3.84 million yuan ($620,544) less than its 2012 budget. The MST cut its 2013 budget by 1 million yuan ($161,600) from its 2012 budget.

These departments have set a good example for provincial departments in reducing the expenditures, said Bai Jingming, deputy director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the MOF.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2013)