Despite repeated directives to ease the burden on local officials and curb formalism, many of China’s cadres still find themselves trapped in a frustrating cycle of working harder yet achieving fewer tangible results, according to state-linked media.

Banyuetan, an influential biweekly magazine affiliated with state news agency Xinhua, outlined five symptoms of this “busier-but-emptier” phenomenon in a report published on its website on Tuesday.

Beijing has long called for easing the burden of local cadres and reining in formalism and bureaucratic excess – a long-standing challenge within China’s vast administrative system – in a bid to improve governance and better support high-quality development.

Yet, interviews with such officials revealed that many remained weighed down by bureaucratic demands that prioritise paperwork and compliance over tangible results, continuing to drain time and energy, the report said.

One commonly cited example was the rise of “scripted meetings” – where summaries and briefing materials are drafted before discussions even take place.