– A very delicate subject, that is to be handled with great discretion by the host. It is extremely important that the hosting company realizes this and thereby is able to avoid embarrassing situations.

Many Chinese travelling abroad on behalf of the Chinese state receives a daily travel allowance . This is meant to cover expenses (hotel, dining etc.) in the foreign country. Returning to China it is not necessary to submit an account for the actual expenses – as long as the money spent does not exceed the total travel allowance the money is paid out.

This is why many will try to keep their travel expenses abroad as low as possible, e.g. by cooking instead of going to restaurants or several people sharing the same hotel room. This way the surplus money can be spent privately or be taken home.
This is not illegal but it may seem very embarrassing if the host asks questions about it. In general, the Chinese guest does not appreciate it if the foreign host even knows about this situation, because they will “lose face” in front of their host.