BEIJING, Jan. 13 -- Receptions at local government liaison offices in Beijing were cut by 70 percent year on year in 2013, following a set of frugality guidelines in government organs, the Government Offices Administration (GOA) of the State Council said in a statement on Monday.

Hundreds of liaison offices representing major cities, provinces and special economic zones have been permitted to operate in the Chinese capital. They are often accused of being a place for local officials to network with central government officials while using public funds.

In December 2012, the leadership of the Communist Party of China began to promote an "eight-point" set of guidelines to ban extravagance and formalism from events attended by officials.

The rules, including those to reduce traffic controls and ban red carpet arrangements, urge CPC officials to resist pomp, ceremony and bureaucratic visits and meetings.

According to the GOA, expenses for official receptions in 2013 were cut by one-third and receptions were reduced by 50 percent compared with 2012 figures in organs affiliated with the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

The number of official vehicles was down by 37 percent and spending on meetings was also reduced by a large margin, the GOA said, without disclosing the statistics.