China Economic Weekly reporter Wang Hongru | Beijing Report
Editor: Cao Xu
(This article was published in China Economic Weekly, No.49, 2018)
With the recent approval of the Shanghai Institutional Reform Plan, the provincial institutional reform plans of 31 provinces have all been approved by the central authorities.
According to the Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Institutions issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in March 2018, "the plan for the reform of provincial party and government institutions should be submitted to the CPC Central Committee for approval before the end of September 2018, and the institutional adjustment should be basically in place before the end of 2018. The reform of party and government institutions below the provincial level shall be under the unified leadership of provincial party committees and reported to the Party Central Committee for the record before the end of 2018. All local institutional reform tasks will be basically completed by the end of March 2019. "
As an important part of deepening the reform of the party and state institutions, the reform of local institutions is being fully implemented in accordance with the "planning map", "construction drawing" and "timetable" determined by the CPC Central Committee.
"Optimize synergy and high efficiency" instead of "streamline unified efficiency"
The first province to receive the approval from the central government was Hainan. On September 13th this year, the Central Office and the State Council issued the "Hainan Province Institutional Reform Plan".
After the reform, there are 55 party and government organizations in Hainan Province, including 18 provincial party committees and 37 government organizations. It is generally consistent with the establishment of the central party and government institutions and reflects the characteristics of Hainan. For example, the establishment of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning and the Provincial Forestry Bureau will bring land and marine natural resources into a unified management system; Re-establish the provincial ecological environment department and establish a large environmental protection management system; Integrate the functions of tourism, culture and sports, and set up a provincial tourism and culture radio, film and television sports hall to serve the development of tourism in the whole region.
On October 15th, the Anhui Provincial Institutional Reform Plan was approved. After the reform, Anhui Province set up 60 party and government organizations. Among them, there are 17 provincial party committees and 43 provincial government agencies. In an interview with China Economic Weekly, Professor Yuan Weihai, vice president of Anhui Administration College, said that 29 units were merged and five new units were re-established. According to the principle of optimization, synergy and high efficiency, under the premise of ensuring that the total number of institutions can not be broken, according to the adjustment of functions and institutions, we will make overall plans for resource allocation.
Optimizing synergy and high efficiency is an important principle in this institutional reform. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s Decision on Deepening the Reform of Party and State Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the "Decision") points out that the principle of "optimization, coordination and high efficiency" should be adhered to in deepening the reform of Party and State institutions.
In the past, the decision-making level has always emphasized the principle of "streamlining and unifying efficiency" for institutional reform.
"Different from previous institutional reforms, this institutional reform pays more attention to systematicness, integrity and synergy, emphasizing strengthening the overall leadership of the party as the guide, focusing on optimizing synergy and efficiency, and coordinating the reform of the party, government and military groups." Shen Ronghua, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Administrative Management, told the reporter of China Economic Weekly, "Optimization is scientific and reasonable, with consistent powers and responsibilities, coordination is unified and divided, and efficiency is to perform duties in place and smooth processes."
In Yuan Weihai’s view, optimizing synergy and efficiency also means that there will be no cliff-like downsizing in institutional reform, and every civil servant will have a post after the reform. "Before the end of this year, the reform of Anhui provincial institutions should be basically put in place. At present, the overall opinions on institutional reform in cities and counties have been reviewed at the meeting of the Leading Group for Promoting Institutional Reform of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee and are being reported to the central government for the record according to procedures. "
Provincial institutions limit management, the total number of provinces does not exceed 60.
The reporter found out that many provinces have set up "optional actions" according to local conditions in the reform, and the number of institutions is not the same.
Comparing the number of party and government organizations in various provinces after the reform, Hainan and Ningxia have the least, with 55; Among the municipalities directly under the Central Government, there are 65 in Beijing, 64 in Chongqing and Tianjin and 63 in Shanghai. The total number of party and government organizations in Shandong, Hunan, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin, Fujian, Gansu, Hebei, Anhui and other provinces is 60.
Judging from the reform, at present, the number of institutions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council is about 90, and the number of provincial party committees and government institutions is about 60, and the number of institutions decreases further down. Shen Ronghua, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Administrative Management, believes that the reason why the number of central party and government institutions is more than that of local governments is mainly because the central government should exercise comprehensive leadership and management over the various undertakings of the party and the state. According to the management law, there must be more institutions at the central level. "For example, there are national defense, diplomacy, customs, maritime affairs, finance and other institutions at the central level, and places are usually not established; For another example, in the cultural field, in some places, institutions such as culture, tourism, sports, radio and television, press and publication are integrated into one institution, while at the central level, these institutions are separated. "
Take 55 provincial party and government organizations in Hainan Province as an example, of which 43 correspond to the relevant departments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. In addition, there is a "one-to-many" provincial-level large-scale institution in Hainan Province. For example, Hainan Province has integrated the management of culture, sports, radio and television of the Provincial Tourism Development Committee and the Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Film and Television Publishing and Sports, and established the Provincial Department of Tourism and Culture, Radio, Film and Television Sports, corresponding to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the State Sports General Administration.
Song Shiming, a professor at the Central Party School (National School of Administration), said that the purpose of this adjustment is to ensure that the upper and lower levels are in line with each other, that government decrees are implemented, and that the market and the legal system are unified. Both "one-on-one" and "one-on-many" large-scale system can be allowed in local areas, and finally optimization, coordination, intensive and efficient can be achieved.
Many provinces and cities set up "characteristic departments" according to local conditions.
It is worth mentioning that Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Shandong, Chongqing, Guangdong and other provinces have set their sights on "big data" in order to actively adapt to the development of digital information technology and promote "e-government in internet plus".
For example, Fujian Province has set up the Digital Fujian Construction Leading Group Office (Provincial Big Data Administration); Anhui Province established the Data Resources Administration Bureau; Shandong Province established the Provincial Big Data Bureau; Chongqing established the Municipal Big Data Application and Development Administration; Guangdong and other provinces set up big data bureaus within the Provincial Economic and Information Committee; Zhejiang Province established the Provincial Big Data Development Administration.
"The establishment of some new institutions such as the Big Data Bureau means that many provinces have begun to attach great importance to the big data strategy and smart city strategy, and localities have begun to transform into smart cities and smart provinces." Shen Ronghua told China Economic Weekly that the establishment of the Big Data Administration will be a powerful starting point for the construction of smart cities.
In addition to the "big data" highlights, the reporter found out that some provinces have also set up some departments that are in line with regional reality and reflect regional characteristics according to their respective characteristics.
For example, Shandong Province has set up the Marine Development Committee to build a strategic location for high-quality marine development; Hainan Province set up the office of the Committee for Comprehensively Deepening the Reform of the Provincial Party Committee, and hung the brand of the office of the Working Committee of the Free Trade Zone (Free Trade Port) of the Provincial Party Committee; Guangdong has set up a provincial leading group to promote the construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Liaoning Province has set up the Provincial Business Environment Construction Bureau, the integration of defense and civilian technologies Development Committee Office of the Provincial Party Committee and other institutions that are quite "appropriate". Chen Qiufa, secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, pointed out that the establishment of business environment institutions should be optimized and the level of business environment construction should be accelerated. Highlight the characteristics of the province, give full play to the advantages of Liaoning as a major military province, and explore new ways for the in-depth development of integration of defense and civilian technologies.
The general view of the outside world is that revitalizing the Northeast and accelerating the improvement of the business environment is a major starting point. Sun Qingguo, member of the Party Committee of Liaoning Administration College and director of the public administration teaching and research department, said in an interview with China Economic Weekly, "At present, there are shortcomings in the business environment in Liaoning. This institutional reform, Liaoning Province regards the Business Environment Construction Bureau as the direct bureau of the provincial government, which is the only one in the country."
The establishment of the office of the integration of defense and civilian technologies Development Committee of the Provincial Party Committee is also a major feature of Liaoning. Sun Qingguo said that Liaoning Province, as a big military industry province, still has a certain gap in integration of defense and civilian technologies. Integration of defense and civilian technologies is an important platform and carrier for Liaoning to accelerate its overall revitalization. "The purpose of setting up the office of the integration of defense and civilian technologies Development Committee of the Provincial Party Committee in a timely manner is to give full play to the advantages of a large military province and explore new ways for the in-depth development of integration of defense and civilian technologies."
In Shen Ronghua’s view, different provinces not only highlight the characteristics of their respective responsibilities due to different management levels, but also have differences in economic and social development level, industrial structure, geographical population, ethnic structure, etc., all of which determine that institutional setup and functional allocation should proceed from reality and adapt to local conditions.
Many provinces and institutions are downsizing and no longer undertake administrative functions.
In addition to party and government organizations, institutions that undertake administrative functions are also among the reforms.
The reporter of China Economic Weekly found that in terms of institutional setup, many provinces no longer retain or newly set up institutions that undertake administrative functions, and institutions have also ushered in new changes.
For example, the "Shandong Province Institutional Reform Plan" proposes that in the future, institutions will no longer undertake administrative functions except administrative law enforcement agencies; Deepen the reform of public welfare institutions, integrate institutions with similar responsibilities and tasks, and improve their service and technical support capabilities; Promote the separation of enterprises and enterprises.
The "Hainan Provincial Institutional Reform Plan" also puts forward new requirements for the reform of affiliated institutions, comprehensively cleans up the administrative functions undertaken by provincial institutions and assigns administrative functions to competent departments or administrative institutions with similar functions; Non-transfer institutions that can transfer their functions really need to be strictly controlled by the internal organs of the administrative department; In principle, other types of institutions only carry out necessary transfer, renaming and integration.
The "Institutional Reform Plan of Liaoning Province" proposes to comprehensively clean up the administrative functions undertaken by public institutions, assign administrative functions to relevant departments, and adjust the original institutions to public service institutions, and optimize and integrate with relevant institutions.
Sun Qingguo told the reporter of China Economic Weekly that the reform of public institutions in Liaoning Province, based on the principles of separating government affairs, enterprises and management, has consolidated the original 650 public institutions into 65, and cut down 90%. Not only provincial institutions, but also cities and counties are also integrated according to this ratio.
After the substantial integration, how to arrange personnel is a problem. Sun Qingguo told the reporter of China Economic Weekly about the measures taken by Liaoning Province. There were 60 people in the civil air defense office of a city, but only 12 people were left in the administrative department after the reform of public institutions. 48 people have left, how can these 12 people guarantee to run?
"Due to the consideration of institutional reform and the transformation of government functions, cities, counties and township organs have not recruited civil servants on a large scale in recent years, and cities, counties and township organs have vacated some establishments. They take out 60% to 80% (80% in cities and counties, 60% in towns and villages) of administrative vacancies, and recruit civil servants from qualified personnel in public institutions, and let them become civil servants through examinations. Not only solved ‘ There is nothing to do, and some people have nothing to do ’ The problem has also solved the problem that the reform in some organs has affected the empty editing and functional operation. " Sun Qingguo said that these people have to go through interviews, physical examinations and publicity after the written examination.
