State Council reshuffle proposed
Major changes aim to improve efficiency and public services
China unveiled a plan for its biggest Cabinet reshuffling in years on Tuesday as part of an effort to improve the government’s structure, efficiency and service orientation.
The institutional reform plan of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, says the body will have 26 ministries and commissions after it is reshuffled. The State Council’s ministerial-level entities will be reduced by eight and viceministerial-level entities will fall by seven.
The reform plan was submitted to the ongoing first session of the 13th National People’s Congress for deliberation.
New entities include ministries of natural resources, veterans affairs and emergency management.
There will also be new administrations under the State Council such as an international development cooperation agency and a State immigration administration.
The reform aims to push forward institutional restructuring in key areas. It is designed to strengthen the government’s economic management, market supervision, social management, public service and environmental protection.
State Councilor Wang Yong, who introduced the plan at the NPC session on Tuesday, said the reform will strengthen the overall leadership of the Party, help modernize the system and capacity of State governance and improve governance efficiency.
Cabinet reform will focus on transforming the government’s functions, removing bottlenecks that impede the market’s decisive role in resource allocation and facilitating the pursuit of highquality growth, he said.
During the Third Plenary Session of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee from Feb 26 to 28, the CPC Central Committee adopted a decision on deepening reform of Party and State institutions.
The decision stated that deepening that reform is a profound change to promote the modernization of the system and capacity for governance of the State.
“Deepening the reform of the Party and State institutions is an inevitable requirement for strengthening the long-term governance of the Party,” Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said in an article published by People’s Daily on Tuesday.
The reform will cover different levels of institutions in the Party, government, people’s congress, political advisory body, judiciary, social organizations, public institutions and within military-civil integration, said Liu, who is also director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs.
“Unlike past institutional reform, which mainly was related to government institutions and administrative systems, this institutional reform will be comprehensive,” he said in the article.
Fu Yuhang, an NPC deputy from Sichuan province, said it follows the historical trend for China to deepen reform because some outdated agencies should be eliminated while
Unlike past institutional reform ... this institutional reform will be comprehensive.” Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said in an article published by People’s Daily
A new ministry will be established to manage China’s major emergency responses in efforts to guard against major risks and improve the public safety system, said a draft plan submitted on Tuesday to the National People’s Congress for deliberation.
The plan will integrate all resources for emergency management to build a professional and fast-response system, which can ensure the safety of people’s lives and their property, the plan said.
The suggested Ministry of Emergency Management will take over the responsibilities of the current State Administration of Work Safety and functions from other ministries, including firefighting from the Ministry of Public Security, disaster relief from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, geological disaster prevention from the current Ministry of Land and Resources, drought and flood control from the Ministry of Water Resources, and prairie fire control from the current Ministry of Agriculture.
The emergency management department of the General Office of the State Council will also be merged into the new ministry. The new ministry will also oversee the China Earthquake Administration and the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, while the State Administration of Work Safety will be dismantled.
In the draft plan, the new ministry will compile and implement the nation’s overall emergency management plans, organize rescue and relief for disasters and work-
If approved, the new ministry will become a single department responsible for major safety risks.” Zhu Lijia, professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance
place accidents. It will also focus on supervision of work safety in factories, mines and trading centers.
Small-scale disasters should be managed by local governments and the Ministry of Emergency Managements will provide support. When serious disasters occur, the ministry will be the headquarters to coordinate rescue and relief efforts, the plan said.
“In the past, emergency management functions were separated in different ministries. If approved, the new ministry will become a single department responsible for major safety risks with clearlydefined power and responsibilities,” said Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance.
The integration of disaster rescue and relief resources will substantially improve China’s speed and efficiency in emergency management, said Li Junpeng, another professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance.