Sweeping Government Overhaul

China has introduced a major government overhaul to make its bureaucracy better-structured, more efficient and service-oriented. Through mergers and establishing new offices, there will be 26 ministries and commissions, including new agencies for natural resources, veterans affairs, and emergency management. The number of ministerial-level agencies has been reduced by eight and that of vice-ministerial-level entities by seven. Since the reform and opening-up policy of the late 1970s, China has downsized the central government virtually every five years. The eighth government overhaul this year is mainly aimed at tackling the institutional obstacles that prevent the market from playing a decisive role in resources allocation, building a modern economy with high-quality growth and improving efficiency. Experts cautioned that for this latest government reshuffle, it is urgent to break the vicious circle of downsizing, redundancy and more downsizing.