China unveils new cabinet amid function reform (2)

Lou Jiwei was previously chairman of the China Investment Corporation, China's sovereign wealth fund, and Central Huijin Investment Ltd. He has also served as vice finance minister and deputy secretary-general of the State Council.

Gao Hucheng was formerly the vice minister of commerce. Wang Zhengwei, Jiang Daming and Li Bin are former governors of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and east China's Shandong and Anhui provinces, respectively.

Chang Wanquan is a member of the CPC Central Military Commission. Huang Shuxian is from the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Of the 17 other members, Xu Shaoshi was previously minister of land and resources. Sixteen cabinet members kept their current posts.

Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, 64, and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun, 58, are also new state councilors. Chang is in charge of national defense construction. Guo is responsible for maintaining public security, social stability and harmony.

The new cabinet has 24 CPC members. Jiang Weixin, minister of housing and urban-rural development, and Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, are not members of the CPC Central Committee.

A great test for the new cabinet will involve transforming how the government functions and correcting defaults and overlaps in duty and work to build a well-structured, clean, efficient and service-oriented government that has scientifically defined functions and that the people are satisfied with, observers say.

Function transformation is the core of the State Council's institutional reform plan, which is not simply institutional restructuring. The transformation will mark new and significant progress in deepening China's administrative system reform.

The reform means the new cabinet will exert more efforts to overcome difficulties and problems, speed up the transformation of China's economic growth mode and achieve sustained and sound economic and social development.

In the reform plan adopted by the NPC, the Ministry of Railways has been abolished. Administrative functions pertaining to railway development planning and policies will be covered by the Ministry of Transport. The proposed China Railway Corporation will carry out the commercial function of the dismantled railway ministry.

Transport Minister Yang Chuantang, 58, kept his post. In a country with the biggest population and third-largest land area in the world, Yang faces the tough task of accelerating the construction of the country's comprehensive transport system.