As the sixth reform on the State Council organs since China's
reform and opening up, idea solicitation concerning "greater
department reform" is coming to an end, Eastday.com reported on
January 14, 2008.
The State Council has entrusted relevant departments to make
special studies on the greater department reform. "The report will
be submitted to the State Council before January 20," a person in
charge told the China Business News.?
According to the report, currently the Chinese government organs
have the following defects: too much micro-controls; insufficient
macro-economic management, market supervision, social management
and public services; overlapping government organs with similar
functions.
Prof. Li Junpeng from the China National School of
Administration pointed out that currently the departments of the
State Council have more than 80 duties. The construction department
alone has overlapping functions with 24 other departments such as
the National Development and Reform Commission and the
transportation department.
Overlapping administrative functions may affect the economy
negatively. Fan Gang, Secretary-General of the Chinese Economic
Restructuring Foundation, recently published his research results,
indicating that China's administration costs from 1999 to 2005 have
negatively affected the economic growth, reaching a minus 1.73
percent.
???
"With regard to the government reform, I believe the next step on
our agenda is to cut down government administrative costs," Fan
said.
Prof. Mao Shoulong with the School of Public Administration of
Renmin University of China, believed that in the new round of
reform of government organs, the State Council department reform
shall continuously focus on the following three aspects: to reform
departments with economic regulatory powers and market supervision
functions so as to strengthen macro-control and reduce
micro-intervention; to reform departments with public service
functions and push forward institutional reforms; to reform
state-owned enterprises and to create a favorable competition
environment for further development of the market economy.
?
Mao and other experts have recently finished a report on the reform
of government organs. The report suggests a two-stage approach for
the reform: a trial within the departments of transportation and
agriculture in 2008, gradually extended to the public service
areas; and a full-scale reform shall follow in 2013 building on the
achievements.
The term "Greater department" was first introduced in the
political report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of
China. The report says that "We will step up our efforts to
streamline government organs, explore ways to establish greater
departments with integrated functions".
The China Comment claimed that this was a brand new reform idea
that pointed out the correct direction for the reform of the
administrative system.
?
Since 1982, China has carried out five major reforms on the
administrative system: the State Council cut 39 departments in
1982; in 1988 the State Council's departments and Organizations
directly under it were reduced from 67 to 60 and a total of 9700
employees were also cut; in 1993 the number of such departments and
organizations was cut from 86 to 59 and their working staff reduced
by 20 percent; in 1998 only 29 of the State Council's 40
departments were retained; and finally in 2003, the State Council
established the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration,
the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Commerce
as well as the State Food and Drug Administration.
?
(China.org.cn by Zhang Ming'ai, January 16, 2008)