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Government Reform Makes Progress
By 1997, the government had undergone three major restructurings since China started reform and opening policies in the late 1970s.
But the system still needs improvement as the market economy develops faster and stronger. The old establishment faces increasing pressure as problems such as overstaffing, bureaucracy and financial burdens emerge.
The fourth governmental restructuring started in 1998. Its goal was to change the role of government in the market economy --- the government is not the parent of a big family who handles everything, instead, a supervisor or guide who controlls the macro-economy through legal and economic means.
Enterprises became independent entities from the government as the central and provincial governments reduced and restructured departments for economic administration.
Enterprises previously run by the government are now responsible for themselves. The government plays only the role of a major shareholder.
The assistant and serving functions of the government and those that can be managed by the society itself were left to social agencies and organizations.
In order to achieve justness, the accounting, auditing and law offices were separated from governmental departments.
The monitoring on the macro-economy was strengthened. The State Planning Commission was renamed the State Development Planning Commission. The new commission, together with the Ministry of Finance, the State Economic and Trade Commission and the People's Bank of China, applied comprehensive measures to achieve effective management of the macro-economy. The reform proved useful as China's economy survived the Asian financial turmoil.
Inherited from China's planned economy, the government held too much power in approving projects. In the reform of State Council build-ups, a lot of unnecessary items that used to need approval were abolished. The approving procedures of the remaining items have been standardized and simplified.
Reducing abundant departments and staff is also an important part of the reforms.
The departments whose functions overlaps or are similar were combined into one. The former Ministry of Geology and Minerals, the State Land Administration, the State Bureau of Oceanography and the State Bureau of Cartography have become the Ministry of Land and Resources. The departments of the State Council has been reduced from 40 to 29.
The staffs of the governmental offices were drastically reduced. The State Council has released half of its civil servants. The provincial governments also cut 74,000 of its staff, which accounted for 47 per cent of the total. [Source: chinadaily.com.cn]
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