BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese officials have been instructed to hold fewer meetings, give shorter speeches, file concise documents, and minimize inspections, according to a new set of regulations published Wednesday.

The regulations were issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council to free grassroots officials from bureaucratism and pointless formalities, and refine a long-term mechanism for reducing burdens at the primary level.

As a move to control document quantity, the regulations stipulate that the total number of official documents issued annually by a department should only decrease, not increase, and departments exceeding their previous year's document volume should provide written justification.

Officials are required to produce focused, substantive and innovative documents that effectively communicate key messages and highlight concrete policy measures.

Except for certain comprehensive documents, local and departmental documents generally should not exceed 5,000 characters, while specialized task-related documents should stay within 4,000 characters, according to the regulations.

For meetings, comprehensive annual sessions should be limited to one per sector. Departmental meetings should be merged where possible, and simplified when appropriate.

The regulations pledge substantial reductions in meetings requiring attendance by principal Party or government officials from townships, neighborhoods, villages and residential communities.

Principal Party or government officials should not deliver speeches longer than one hour. Discussion-based meetings should conclude within one-and-a-half days, while other meetings generally should not last beyond half a day.

Virtual meetings via teleconference or video should take precedence over in-person gatherings.

The regulations also include instructions for the development and use of government services apps. Each Party or government agency may maintain only one primary-level service app, subject to strict pre-release approval processes.

Notably, the regulations prohibit Party or government agencies from making the use of these apps mandatory. Government agencies cannot evaluate officials based on app installation or use, or impose regular login mandates, the regulations read.

On public complaints, the regulations note that primary-level petition work should not be assessed solely by petition volume statistics. Enditem