BEIJING, May 27 -- A nationwide campaign will be launched to encourage frugality among the public, Chinese authorities said on Tuesday.

Thrift is a traditional Chinese virtue as well as a core socialist value, according to a statement issued by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the National Development and Reform Commission.

Promoting frugality is vital to improving society and the environment, and will prompt a healthy lifestyle among the public, said the statement.

More efforts are needed to educate young people about frugality, it added.