The Beijing Municipal People's Government will cut back its staff by 50 percent in order to increase efficiency, and the 67 offices under the municipal government will be reduced to 45.

The Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC) will cut down its working departments to 12 from 17, and the number of employees at the Beijing Municipal Party Committee will be reduced by 20 percent.

This organizational restructuring reform plan, mapped out in accordance with the request of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, was just approved by the CPC Central Committee.

It is believed that the current organizational structure of the Beijing municipal Party committee and the municipal government are inefficient and have overlapping functions.

The reform is aimed at building a cooperative, simple, and scientific and efficient operational system. To meet the demands of developing Beijing's economy and building the city into an international metropolis, the Beijing municipal government will establish an administrative management system that accords with the socialist market economy.

The city will carry out this reform plan in the first quarter this year, and laid-off employees will be reassigned within three years.