China Vows to Cut Short Red Tape

Home>>Opinion

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 10, 2003

China Vows to Cut Short Red Tape

China is trying harder to revamp its administrative machine that might otherwise lag too far behind the country's roaring economic locomotive.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

China is trying harder to revamp its administrative machine that might otherwise lag too far behind the country's roaring economic locomotive.

"All the administrative routines and procedures will be cancelled once they are proved contrary to the principle of administration-enterprise separation, detrimental to the market openness and oppressive to a fair market competition," said He Yong, director of the State Council-affiliated office of the administrative approval-&-examination system reform, in an exclusive interview with the People's Daily.

All the administrative procedures, as long as able to be addressed by the market itself, will be delivered to the market, according to the official.

As for the remaining administrative approvals and examinations, they must be put under the strict check and balance, with supervision over them tightened and efficiency improved, he said.

On October 16, 2002, the Chinese government cut 789 items off its administrative procedural list, a widely acclaimed substantial move to demarcate the government's function and improve the administrative efficiency.

Of the cut off administrative procedures, 560 involved economic management affairs, 167 were related to matters of social management, and the remaining 62 concerned administrative management affairs and other matters.

But all this is just a beginning.

Another more than 3,000 administrative approval procedures are now under the close scrutiny of the central government, quite a proportion of which will get rid in the foreseeable future, He said.

The Chinese government appears adamant to overhaul its administrative approval mechanism, the overly long procedure of which is draining off the economic briskness.

A real estate project, for example, usually has to run through 101 administrative approvals, wear 81 seals, afford more than 50 kinds of assorted fees and take nearly one year to finish the whole process.

The most salient defect in the current administrative mechanism is its non-transparency: Some officials have actually taken the power in their hands as a source to tap for money.

"Our purpose in reforming the administrative approval system is by no means simply to cut off some procedural items, but to erect a new administrative approval mechanism compatible with the market-oriented economy, redefine the governments' role, prevent and cure the bureaucratic corruption," said He, also the deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC)

In the 16th CPC National Congress held on November 8 to 14 last year, the Party promised to build up in China a "Xiaokang", or literally moderate well-off, society by 2020.

In addition to the per capita US$3,000 of the gross domestic product, the "Xiaokang" society also includes a solid "socialist democracy and a socialist political civilization".

Analysts believe that China is, like rolling out a gradualist market-oriented economic reform since 1978, trying to launch a similar action in the political and democratic field, a sensitive area China has been refraining from touching over the past years.

Just as the economic reform is pushed by the central government vertically from the top of China's bureaucratic pyramid to the basic tier, the democratization process will largely take the same course.

"For now, most provincial governments are looking into and tidying up the administrative approval items under their respective jurisdiction, some already getting ready to initiate the 2nd or 3rd round of reform," He said, "which will eventually expand to the grassroots authorities at the level of prefecture and county."

By PD Online Staff Forest Lee

Questions?Comments? Click here

Exam-Approval System Must Meet WTO Commitments: Vice-Premier

Vice-Premier Stresses Administrative Reforms

China Deletes 789 Procedures from Administrative Approval List

Why Doesn't US Set to 'Use Force' Against DPRK? ( 12 Messages)

New-Generation Nuclear Reactor Put into Use in China ( 2 Messages)

US, Iraq Change from 'Allies' to Enemies: Commentary ( 5 Messages)

To Occupy China's Diaoyu Islands, Japan's Fond Dream for Long ( 2 Messages)

US-Taiwan Military Cooperation 'will Harm Sino-US Ties' ( 8 Messages)