New Tide of Institutional Reform

by Ni Junchen

attempt of the past three decades after the plan for institutional reform and functional transformation of the State Council was passed at the First Session of the 12th National Peoples Congress （NPC）.

After the closure of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in November 2012， the newly-elected Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee made the decision to launch a new round of government institutional restructuring. The same month， a task force responsible for drafting relevant documents was formed， headed by Wang Yongqing， director of State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform （SCOPSR）， and comprised of members and experts from relevant departments of the State Council.

During the 2013 sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC）， Ma Kai， state councilor and secretary-general of the State Council， elaborated the restructuring plan， noting that the number of the ministries under the State Council would be reduced from 27 to 25. Major tasks of the plan include dissolving the countrys Ministry of Railways into administrative and commercial arms as well as integrating and reorganizing authorities in charge of health， family planning， food and drugs， press and publication， radio， film and television， oceanic administration， and energy.

Since 1982， China has carried out seven large-scale government institutional restructurings. According to members of the document drafting team， unlike the previous six restructuring plans called “institutional restructuring of the State Council，” the latest plan was dubbed “institutional restructuring and functional transformation of the State Council，” testifying to its major goal to transform governmental functions. The overall principle of the reform plan is to consistently push the restructuring of government departments when conditions are ripe while maintaining comparative institutional stability of the State Council on the basis of thorough consideration of Chinas current situations， as well as the risks and challenges it faces.

During the formulation of the restructuring plan， advice and opinions from representatives from all walks of life were taken into account. In addition to advice from heads of governmental departments at various levels and some state-owned and private enterprises， over 400，000 opinions from the internet were collected. Before the plan was revealed， there had been increasingly loud calls for restoring the State Commission for Economic Restructuring and streamlining administrative authority on culture and finance. On March 11， 2013， Wang Feng， a chief author of the restructuring plan and vice director of SCOPSR， pointed out at a news conference that reform would involve functional and personnel changes of many departments and should be steadily enacted step-by-step because any major move during the process risks affecting the situation as a whole.

When interviewed by the media， Professor Wang Manchuan of the Chinese Academy of Governance， an expert specially invited to draft the plan， revealed that consensus on how to restructure the State Oceanic Administration and the Ministry of Railways was quickly reached， but discussion was prolonged on the restructuring of other involved departments.

The restructuring plan met an overwhelmingly positive response when it was revealed. Analysts deemed it “serious and effective.” Of course， opinions still varied. At panel discussions during the NPC and CPPCC sessions， some delegates proposed further reducing the number of ministries and commissions under the State Council by arguing that the governments of most developed countries have only 16 to 20 ministries， and others suggested that the National Health and Family Planning Commission be renamed the “National Population and Health Commission” to meet international practices. As for the long-awaited restructuring of the Ministry of Railways， some commented that it doesnt change the monopoly status of the railway authorities， and that the newlyorganized China Railway Corporation will face a variety of challenges in balancing social responsibility with profitability.