China to start new round of gov´t institutional reform

Source: Xinhuanet | 10-23-2007 09:01

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to launch a new round of administrative reform aimed at improving coordination and collaboration between government departments by way of establishing greater departments with integrated functions.

CPC Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao made the pledge of carrying out the reform last week in his report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"The administrative reform is an important part of the efforts to deepen China's overall reform. We must lose no time in working out a master plan for it, with the focus on changing functions, straightening out relations, optimizing the setup and raising efficiency, and bring about a system which matches powers with responsibilities, divides work in a rational way, fosters scientific decision-making, and ensures smooth enforcement and effective oversight," said Hu.

Jia Kang, head of the Research Institute of Fiscal Science attached to the Chinese Ministry of Finance, said further government institutional reforms are impending after the concept of establishing greater departments with integrated functions was made known to the public.

Jia disclosed that the country had been experimenting with downsizing its five-tier financial system to three from central level down to the local level.

Setting up greater departments with integrated functions is thought to be an effective solution to the problems of overlapping organizations and functions and conflicting policies from different departments.

Chinese analysts say greater departments with integrated functions may help address issues requiring administrative examination and approval, standardize procedures, and raise efficiency in policy implementation.

Chang Xiuze with the National Development and Reform Commission called the reform as a "surgery" for the existing government institutional system.

"The planned surgery demonstrates the CPC's determination to construct a service-oriented government, while striving to remove the ills of the old administrative system," said Chang. "The surgery will fully help implement the Scientific Outlook on Development."

Scientific outlook on development, which was inscribed in the CPC Constitution at the 17th National Congress of the CPC that ended on Sunday, takes development as its essence, putting people first as its core, comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development as its basic requirement, and overall consideration asits fundamental approach.

"A higher degree of professionalism, highly elaborate division of labor and function overlapping led to a serious involvement of government departments in microeconomic operations, which has in turn weakened the government's public service and macro management function," said Chang.

Fang Ning, deputy director of the Political Science Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "Problems of the old administrative system are too obvious to be neglected and the reform to concentrate several closely related functions under a bigger government department must be enforced."

Fang cited pollution of the Songhua River caused by explosion at a chemical plant in 2005 as an example. He blamed a lack of coordination between closely related government departments, including water resources and environmental conservation, for the failure in curbing pollution of the Songhua River efficiently.

In that pollution incident, the Songhua River was seriously polluted when 100 tons of benzene-related pollutants flowed into the river.

The contamination forced Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, to temporarily suspend water supply to 3.8 million people. The pollution also raised concerns in Russia as the river empties into the Heilongjiang River at the border of China and Russia.

China has carried out five rounds of government institutional reform since 1978 when the country started reform and the opening-up drive. The State Council now consists of 28 departments.

Editor:Du Xiaodan