China unveiled a government restructuring plan on Sunday, cutting cabinet-level entities by two and dissolving its powerful railways ministry, as the country's new leaders look to boost efficiency and combat corruption.
The reforms mark the biggest reduction in ministries since 1998 when then-premier Zhu Rongji oversaw the overhaul of the State Council, and coincides with growing public concern over transparency and overlapping bureaucracies.
The government will join the Family Planning Commission — the agency that controls the controversial one-child policy – with the Health Ministry, and strengthen the powers of the food and drug regulators, it said in a report released during the on-going annual meeting of parliament.
‘Currently, numerous operational, organisational and division of labour problems exist in State Council ministries,’ State Council Secretary-General Ma Kai said in a speech on the plan to the National People's Congress.
Ma added that ‘breach of duty, using positions for personal gain and corruption’ under the structure had not been effectively constrained.
China's president-in-waiting Xi Jinping and premier-designate Li Keqiang assume their new roles after the annual congress concludes next week. The Railways Ministry and Family Planning Commission have been particularly unpopular, and their restructuring was widely expected.
The Railways Ministry has faced numerous problems over the past few years, including heavy debts from funding new high-speed lines, waste and fraud. Railways planning will be coordinated under the broader transport ministry.
The reforms mark the biggest reduction in ministries since 1998 when then-premier Zhu Rongji oversaw the overhaul of the State Council, and coincides with growing public concern over transparency and overlapping bureaucracies.
The government will join the Family Planning Commission — the agency that controls the controversial one-child policy – with the Health Ministry, and strengthen the powers of the food and drug regulators, it said in a report released during the on-going annual meeting of parliament.
‘Currently, numerous operational, organisational and division of labour problems exist in State Council ministries,’ State Council Secretary-General Ma Kai said in a speech on the plan to the National People's Congress.
Ma added that ‘breach of duty, using positions for personal gain and corruption’ under the structure had not been effectively constrained.
China's president-in-waiting Xi Jinping and premier-designate Li Keqiang assume their new roles after the annual congress concludes next week. The Railways Ministry and Family Planning Commission have been particularly unpopular, and their restructuring was widely expected.
The Railways Ministry has faced numerous problems over the past few years, including heavy debts from funding new high-speed lines, waste and fraud. Railways planning will be coordinated under the broader transport ministry.