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Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 17:11
China's national legislature hears cabinet reshuffle plan
By ​Xinhua
Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 17:11 By ​Xinhua

The fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 13, 2018. (YAO DAWEI / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Chinese lawmakers Tuesday heard a draft supervision law and a reshuffle plan on the State Council, or the cabinet, at the ongoing national legislative session.     

Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng attended the fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).   

NPC deputies adopted a decision on special committees of the 13th NPC and a voting method for their chairpersons, vice chairpersons and members.     

According to the decision, the 13th NPC will have 10 special committees, covering areas such as ethnic affairs, Constitution and law, foreign affairs, environmental protection, agriculture and rural affairs.     

At Tuesday's meeting, the NPC deputies adopted a name list of chairpersons, vice chairpersons and members of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee and the NPC Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.     

On March 19, they will decide on the personnel of the rest eight committees.     

MASSIVE CABINET RESHUFFLE PLAN

Earlier in the day, the institutional reform plan of the State Council was submitted to the on-going first session of the 13th National People's Congress for deliberations. 

It focuses on the needs of development and meets the people's expectations

 Wang Yong, State Councilor

State Councilor Wang Yong briefed the lawmakers on the plan. 

There will be 26 ministries and commissions of the State Council after the reshuffle. Among the new entities are a ministry of natural resources, a ministry of veterans affairs, and a ministry of emergency management. 

There will also be new administrations, such as an international development cooperation agency, a state immigration administration, and a banking and insurance regulatory commission. Compared with the current setup of cabinet administrations, the number of ministerial-level entities is reduced by eight and that of vice-ministerial-level entities by seven. 

"It focuses on the needs of development and meets the people's expectations," Wang said, adding that the restructuring forms part of a broader plan by the Communist Party of China to deepen the reform of the Party and state institutions. 

He said the cabinet reshuffle dealt with the institutional obstacles to make the market play a decisive role in resource allocation. The reshuffle will also help China build a modern economy with high quality growth. 

In a big change, a banking and insurance regulatory commission will be formed to replace the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. 

The move is aimed at solving existing problems such as unclear responsibilities, cross-regulation and absence of supervision, Wang said. 

The new body will enhance oversight of both banking and insurance industries and be more effective to forestall risks in the financial sector. 

The international development cooperation agency, to be formed by merging parts of the functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce, will "give full play to foreign aid as a key means of major-country diplomacy," Wang said. 

A state immigration administration is to be set up under the Ministry of Public Security to formulate and enforce immigration rules, as "the number of foreigners working and living in China has been increasing, raising new requirements on immigration administration and services," according to Wang. 

People's welfare will be better protected, with the establishment of two new ministerial departments devoted to healthcare and veterans affairs. 

New ministries

There will be 26 ministries and commissions of the State Council after the reshuffle, according to a document detailing the plan shared with media

A new ministry of ecological environment will be responsible for the compiling and implementation of China's ecological environment policies, plans and standards, as well as ecological environment monitoring and law enforcement. 

READ MORE: China to form new regulatory commissions 

The Ministry of Land and Resources and the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation will be dismantled and will be replaced by a ministry of natural resources. 

Responsibilities of the new ministry will include overseeing the development and protection of China's natural resources, setting up and implementing a spatial planning system, and establishing a system for paid use of natural resources.  

The ministry of emergency management will be responsible for compiling and implementing emergency management plans, as well as organizing rescue and relief for disasters and workplace accidents, according to the plan.  

State Councilor Wang Yong makes a statement to the 13th National People's Congress on the institutional reform plan of the State Council. (WANG YI / XINHUA)

Also, Ministry of Culture and National Tourism Administration will be merged to form a ministry of culture and tourism for coordinating the development of cultural and tourism industries, enhancing the country's soft power and cultural influence, and promoting cultural exchanges internationally, according to the State Council's plan.   

China's Cabinet plans to abolish its legislative affairs office and restructure the Ministry of Justice. The new ministry will be tasked with drafting laws and administrative regulations, coordinate legislative work and law enforcement, supervise affairs of administrative review, oversee prisons, community correction and rehabilitation of drug users, among other things.

China will set up a state administration of forestry and grassland and the State Forestry Administration will be dismantled. 

This apart, China's national social security fund investment operator will no longer be administered by the State Council, but by the finance ministry. As per the new plan, the National Council for Social Security Fund will be a fund investment operating agency without definite government administrative ranking.

Administrative overhaul

There will be also new administrations under the State Council, such as an international development cooperation agency, and a state immigration administration. 

The number of ministerial-level entities has been reduced by eight and that of vice-ministerial-level entities by seven

Compared with the current setup, the number of ministerial-level entities is reduced by eight and that of vice-ministerial-level entities by seven, according to the document.

The reform, which aims to push forward the institutional restructuring in key areas, will strengthen the government's functions on economic management, market supervision, social management, public service, and ecological and environmental protection, according to the plan.

As part of it, the State Intellectual Property Office will be retructured to strengthen protection of intellectual property rights, according to the State Council plan made available to the media Tuesday.   

The office will incorporate part of functions of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, to solve problems including separated administration and overlapping enforcement.
The new agency will be responsible for facilitating the construction of an IPR protection system, and the registration and administrative adjudication of trademarks, patents and geographical indications. 

The Ministry of Science and Technology will be restructured by taking over the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. The new ministry is tasked to plan and implement national strategies for innovation-driven development, basic researches, and policies, coordinate major research projects, promote reforms in scientific and technology sector, and recruit foreign experts. The National Natural Science Foundation of China will be supervised by the ministry.

China plans to set up a state medical insurance administration directly under the State Council which will be responsible for formulating policies, plans and standards on healthcare systems.

China plans to integrate auditing functions from various ministries and commissions into the National Audit Office to boost efficiency. Also, the country's national social security fund investment operator will no longer be administered by the State Council, but by the finance ministry.

According to the proposal, national and local taxation will be integrated at and below the provincial level. The integrated offices will be responsible for collection of all items of taxes and non-tax revenue collection and administration with the State Administration of Taxation regulating them in the main. 

A state market regulatory administration is proposed to be set up with the principal responsibilities of comprehensive market supervision and management, market entity registration and market order maintenance. Functions of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the China Food and Drug Administration will be incorporated in the new entity.

China plans to form a state radio and television administration for drafting policies and measures for radio and television management and their implementation.

A state grain and reserves administration will be set up as per the plan with the main responsibilities of stocking, rotation and management of the nation's strategic and emergency-aid materials, including grain, cotton and sugar.  The State Administration of Grain will be dismantled.

If passed, the cabinet reshuffle will be the eighth such move in more than three decades. 

Cutting bureaucracy has been a common pursuit of governments around the world. Begining 1982, amid its reform and opening-up push, China began downsizing the central government about every five years. 

Ma Liang, a public administration professor of Renmin University of China, said cabinet reshuffles throughout the years aimed to develop a sound, service-oriented administration able to satisfy the people's needs.  

ALSO READ: China makes big strides in major reform

(GRAPHIC DESIGN BY ALEX TANG / CHINA DAILY)


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