China Focus: China releases plan on reforming Party and state institutions

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) — The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council have released a plan on reforming Party and state institutions, and issued a circular demanding the faithful implementation of the plan.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, efforts have been made to further reform Party and state institutions, leading to systemic and holistic transformations of their functions, the plan said.

However, the institutional setup and the allocation of functions of Party and state institutions are not yet fully adapted to new tasks, the plan noted, adding that further reforms and adjustments are needed.

It stated the aim of reforming Party and state institutions is building a functional system of Party and state institutions that is well-developed, procedure-based and efficient.

The plan said important arrangements were made at the 20th CPC National Congress for deepening the reform of Party and state institutions, which is of far-reaching significance.

Efforts are needed to deepen institutional reform in key areas and ensure that the Party’s leadership over socialist modernization becomes more refined in institutional setup, more optimized in the division of functions, more improved in institutions and mechanisms, and more efficient in operation and management, according to the plan.

The plan listed several reforms on CPC Central Committee institutions.

A central commission for finance will be established to strengthen CPC Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership over financial work.

It will be responsible for top-level planning, coordination, overall advancement of financial stability and development and for supervising the work’s implementation. The commission will also study and deliberate major policies and matters in the financial sector, among others. An office of the commission will be set up, the plan said.

A committee will be formed to strengthen the unified leadership over the Party’s work in the financial sector.

A central commission for science and technology will be set up to enhance the CPC Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership over the work of science and technology, the plan said.

Its functions include pushing forward the building of a national innovation system and structural scientific and technological reform, studying and deliberating major strategies, plans and policies for the country’s sci-tech development, and coordinating efforts to resolve major issues of strategic, guiding and fundamental significance in the sci-tech sector.

A social work department of the CPC Central Committee will be formed, the plan said. It will coordinate and guide the work in handling public complaints and soliciting people’s opinions.

The department will also be responsible for Party building work in mixed-ownership and non-public enterprises, and new types of economic and social organizations and among groups in new forms of employment, according to the plan.

The department will oversee the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration.

Party committees at the provincial, municipal and county levels will set up their social work departments accordingly.

A Hong Kong and Macao work office of the CPC Central Committee will be formed on the basis of the existing Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, according to the plan. The new office will function as a working body of the CPC Central Committee. The name of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council will be retained, said the plan.

On deepening reform of the National People’s Congress (NPC) institutions, the plan said that a commission on work related to NPC deputies will be set up.

On deepening reform of State Council institutions, the plan said the Ministry of Science and Technology will be restructured.

A national financial regulatory administration will be set up. Local financial regulatory mechanisms will be reformed.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will be placed directly under the State Council.

Local branches of the People’s Bank of China will also be reformed, according to the plan.

The state-owned financial capital management system will be improved, said the plan.

The management of the staff of financial regulators will be unified and standardized, according to the plan.

A national data bureau will be established, said the plan, adding that the functions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will be optimized.

The plan also specified efforts to improve the elderly-care work mechanism and the management mechanism for intellectual property rights.

On deepening the reform of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee institutions, the plan said that the makeup of its sectors will be optimized. A new sector — the environment and resources sector — will be added to the CPPCC National Committee, among other changes.

The allocation of the staffing resources for Party and state institutions will also be optimized, according to the plan.

Central Party and state institutions will downsize their staff by 5 percent, said the plan. Most of the retrieved staff resources will be invested in key areas and major projects.

Staffing resource reduction at local Party and state institutions is left to the discretion of provincial-level Party committees in light of situations on the ground.

Central authorities are expected to complete the reform by the end of 2023 while localities are expected to complete the reform by the end of 2024, according to the plan. ■