BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- For years, the clink of crystal glasses filled China's official dining rooms at year's end. Baijiu flowed freely, toasts stretched late into the night, and a bottle of China's most prized liquor, Moutai, often sat at the unspoken center of the banquet.
This winter, however, the glasses are conspicuously empty.
China's iconic luxury liquor is losing its place at the table. Wholesale prices of Feitian Moutai have fallen sharply this year, down around 30 percent for recent vintages, a rare reversal for a brand once treated as an investment and now returning to more rational pricing.
But the retreat of premium baijiu is not just about a cooling demand. It is a visible sign of a deeper shift underway in China's political culture.
Across China, officials are now working under tightening constraints that reach all the way to the dinner table.
From March through July, the Communist Party of China launched a renewed campaign to reinforce compliance with its long-standing eight-point rules on frugality and discipline, rules that have, for more than a decade, sought to curb excess, formalism, and bureaucratic habits in official life.
Revised regulations on austerity introduced in May went even further, explicitly banning alcohol, cigarettes and high-end dishes at work-related meals. This prohibition applies to all levels, spanning Party, state, judicial and state-affiliated bodies.
The tightening of official rules has been one factor weighing on prices, said a Moutai retail store owner, surnamed Zhang. He also noted that with fewer institutional buyers and reduced banquet-related purchases, prices have adjusted accordingly.
But the deeper signal lies in enforcement. This year, China's top anti-graft watchdog unusually named and detailed several serious violations of dining and drinking rules, including fatal cases of excessive drinking. Those involved were disciplined, demoted or dismissed.
POLICING EVERYDAY CONDUCT TO CURB CORRUPTION
What is changing is not just how officials dine, but how they operate -- with tighter rules now shaping everything from public spending and travel to vehicles, meetings and even office space.
Government cars are prohibited from flashy upgrades intended to signal rank. Meeting rooms must forgo ornamental plants and elaborate backdrops, and official gatherings at scenic resorts, which were once a discreet perk, are now off-limits.
That broader tightening is reflected in everyday routines. Local officials traveling on duty now pay for meals themselves, scanning QR codes at government canteens instead of billing public accounts.
The numbers tell a similar story. Central government departments have budgeted 302 million yuan for official receptions in 2025, down sharply from 1.52 billion yuan in 2011, when such figures were first made public.
By focusing on these everyday practices, authorities aim to cut off the small, seemingly ordinary acts -- such as a dinner paid for by someone else or a gift that appears trivial -- which investigators warn can escalate into substantial corruption scandals.
That effort has moved in parallel with an aggressive anti-corruption campaign. In the first three quarters of this year, China's anti-graft authorities investigated 90 provincial- and ministerial-level officials. The sweep extended into sectors such as finance, energy, tobacco and infrastructure.
CHANGING CONDUCT, CHANGING SOCIETY
Many grassroots officials say the shift in day-to-day conduct has come as a relief. Years of compulsory banquets and heavy drinking left some with fatty liver disease and high blood pressure, ailments long treated as the price of official life in a culture where "drinking twice a day felt like part of the job."
"Now I'm no longer dragged from one dinner table to another," said Li Na, a local official in Yanjiang District, Ziyang City, in Sichuan Province. "I can finally focus on the work I'm meant to do."
The government's austerity push is rippling through society at large. Frugality has begun to replace excess as a social value. Restaurants are downsizing portions, and it has become common for diners to take leftovers home.
A growing number of upscale hotels are turning to discounted takeout at the curb and pared-down set menus, bringing once-inflated prices back within reach.
This shift extends to major life events. Costly wedding and funeral banquets, once seen as obligatory displays of status, are giving way to simpler, more modest affairs, reflecting a broader embrace of restraint inspired from the top down.
"A celebration doesn't have to be lavish to be meaningful," said Lu Caiqun, a villager in Guangxi who recently helped organize a family birthday celebration. "What matters is that it's sincere." ■
