In an attempt to stomp out political corruption and overspending tied to the booming construction business, Chinese officials on Tuesday put in place a five-year moratorium on all government office, hotel and training center projects.

　　In an attempt to stomp out political corruption and overspending tied to the booming construction business, Chinese officials on Tuesday put in place a five-year moratorium on all government office, hotel and training center projects.

　　Noting that previous attempts to rein in spending on government projects has made some progress, but not completely eradicated the problem, government officials are making it illegal to continue with existing projects or make any new property deals, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council General Office said in a joint statement.

　　"Recently in some regions and sectors there has emerged the phenomenon of illegal construction of office buildings and hotels ... New government building for any reason is strictly prohibited,” the agencies said, according to the statement.

　　The purchase of any new buildings for government purposes or joint ventures to push through a project is also banned, and projects that have been approved but not yet started will not be allowed to go forward. Chinese officials hope the moratorium will help the Communist Party return to a more thrifty and austere image, while helping leaders to clean up corruption in the system, according to the statement.

　　All regions and departments across the country will be subject to the moratorium, and the government agencies have called on the heads of each to set an example and formulate new standards for projects.

　　Renovations and maintenance projects to certain existing buildings will be allowed, but will need to undergo a strict examination and approval process, the agencies said. Luxurious interior decoration of any space is banned.

　　"Departments should further improve the approval process, and establish and improve accountability and internal oversight mechanisms for approval. Approval of illegal acts such as to be dealt with severely,” the agencies said.

　　Operations that are taking up more space than they need or that have rented new offices in an unauthorized manner will have to give up the extra space. Agencies and offices have until September 30 to fully implement the new mandates, and the Central Committee and State Council have said they will inspect operations and supervise compliance, according to the notice.

　　The moratorium is being buoyed in part by public backlash over lavish spending on recent government projects and over projects that have broken previously laid out rules, which has tainted the government’s reputation, the agencies noted in their joint statement.