BEIJING -- China has launched a special campaign to regulate the use of public funds for government vehicles, in a bid to reduce unnecessary public spending in this area.

A team has been formed to lead the campaign and they have held their first meeting to discuss campaign details, according to a statement issued by the team on Thursday.

The team is led by Wu Yuliang, Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

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The campaign is meant to not only investigate and correct the existing excessive use of public money on government vehicles, it will also focus on streamlining a relevant system and regulations to reduce future opportunities for such extravagance, the statement said.

The statement also said the team has decided to promote the campaign to generate public awareness and to respond to public concerns in a timely manner.

In China, some Party and government officials purchased luxury cars for their units and used them for personal matters.

The State Council, or China's Cabinet, last week pledged to enhance the transparency of Party and government financial information released to the public.

It asked government departments to provide more details to the public regarding budgets and other financial information, especially instances of using public funds for overseas trips, vehicle purchases and official receptions.

China's crackdown on various forms of extravagant spending by officials saved the country 5.7 billion yuan ($863 million) last year, Wu said in an interview earlier this year.