Institutional reform new milestone for nation
The Third Plenary Session of the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee concluded on Wednesday. According to its communiqué, the meeting mainly focused on two major issues. It approved the lists of candidates for State leadership positions and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee. It also deliberated and passed a decision to deepen the CPC and national institutional reform as well as relevant plans. The list and reform plans will be reviewed during the first session of the upcoming 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) in accordance with legal procedures.
Candidates for State leadership positions have always been the most talkedabout topic in public opinion. Although the list will only be announced during the NPC, people are always inclined to speculate. But this year, reform plans for State-owned institutions are equally eye-catching, and of unparalleled scale and significance.
China witnessed a round of institutional reform once in 2013. Since the 17th National Congress of the CPC in 2007, ideas for institutional reform fermented and have been frequently discussed. But that round of institutional reform involved restructuring some institutions within the State Council. In the end, the scale of that reform was not as large as expected.
The institutional reform this time is called “CPC and national institutional reform,” and extends far beyond reform of the State Council to include the CPC, the government and the military. The goal and task of reform prioritizes the CPC’s comprehensive leadership. Reform will also strengthen the legalization of institutional organizations and comprehensively strengthen government transparency by releasing lists of powers and responsibilities.
Once these reforms are implemented, they will profoundly affect the institutional structure of the Party, government and military as well as their working relationships with each other. The long-term difficulty of streamlining government organizations will be resolved and there will be fewer obstacles to efficiency. Comprehensively governing the Party with strict discipline, comprehensively deepening reform and comprehensively advancing the rule of law are the key causes of the Party and the country. This time these tasks are integrated through the reform of the Party and State organs.
It can be predicted that the reform will bring about changes around the Chinese people. They will see more officials with clean hands who exhibit higher efficiency and transparency in their official duties. It is a reform that the Chinese people genuinely expected.
The Chinese system has been functioning for quite some time. Various problems are inevitable during the process. Comprehensively deepening reform is hence difficult. It is a common political challenge around the world.
The basic reason that this reform can be proposed is because absolute authority has been established by the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core. The thoughts and style of all Party members have been refreshed since the 18th CPC National Congress. Following the direction of the CPC Central Committee has become the principle of the whole system and the Party and the country are closely united. The CPC and the nation is making decisive reform. The Chinese nation is embarking on a decisive new journey.