BEIJING - China’s State Council unveiled a restructuring plan on Tuesday to cut the number of civil servants at the central government level by 5 per cent in as many years.
Mr Xiao Jie, secretary-general of the council, delivered a speech containing the planned streamlining of China’s Cabinet to the National People’s Congress on the third day of Parliament’s annual full session.
“It is to strengthen, centralise and unify leadership under the party centre... accelerate the construction of a law-based government,” according to an official document made available to journalists.
The plan is also designed “to provide a strong guarantee for building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, referencing President Xi Jinping’s vow to restore China to its former glory.
Mr Xiao did not give a figure for the current number of civil servants at the central government level, but said the retrenchment would be carried out over a five-year grace period.
Parliament is scheduled to vote on the plan on Friday, and will almost certainly approve it.
Under the plan, the Ministry of Science and Technology will be restructured, and part of its responsibilities that have to do with planning, development and formulating policies for the agricultural industry and rural areas will be incorporated into the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Its other responsibilities will be transferred to the state planning National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the National Health Commission.
A party insider told The Straits Times, requesting anonymity: “President Xi has declared that science and technology are strategic pillars to build a strong China. The restructuring of the Ministry of Science and Technology is crucial and necessary to achieve this.”
A newly created State Financial Supervision and Regulatory Administration will, meanwhile, take over part of the central bank and securities regulators’ remit that has to do with protecting consumers and investors.
The Cabinet will also “deepen financial regulatory reforms” at the local level.
Mr Xi has called for China to foresee financial risks and challenges, and make contingency plans for unforeseen “black swan” and predictable “grey rhino” events.
China has cracked down on the financial sector in recent years, taking over Tomorrow Holdings, a privately owned financial empire, insurance giant Anbang and property giants mired in financial irregularities.
Under the restructuring, a State Data Bureau will be created, underscoring the importance of big data to help the Chinese government make informed decisions and find viable solutions to problems.
To grapple with an ageing society, the National Health Commission will turn over its duties relating to elderly people to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
China is now home to the world’s largest population of elderly people. In 2019, 254 million people were aged 60 years or older. By 2040, the figure is expected to almost double to 402 million, accounting for about 28 per cent of the total population.
China’s Cabinet has been restructured nine times since 1983, or an average of every five years when a new premier takes office.
Mr Li Qiang, 63, former Communist Party of China (CPC) secretary of financial capital Shanghai, who outranked the city’s mayor, will become premier at the end of the week-long parliamentary session, succeeding Mr Li Keqiang, 67, who has served two five-year terms. The two are not related.
A political ally of President Xi, Mr Li Qiang took over Mr Li Keqiang’s second-ranked seat in the CPC’s Politburo Standing Committee – the pinnacle of power in China – during the party’s 20th national congress in October 2022. This takes place every five years.
Mr Li Keqiang and his mentor, former president Hu Jintao, are standard-bearers of the party’s Youth League faction, a rival of the incumbent President’s “Xi Family Army” faction.
