Shanghai mayor Han Zheng has announced that the city's Communist Party and government organs will stop buying public cars within the next 12 months.

The move aims to ease the worsening traffic congestion in downtown areas, reported China Radio International.

Scholars welcome the new practice, saying it will help the Party and government organizations use the public cars more efficiently.

Shanghai limits the number of new cars permitted each year by auctioning a limited number of licence plates to private car owners. In the future, the mayor notes that the city will also hold a license plate auction for both private and public cars, eliminating discrimination.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2004)