China will push forward the reform of its administrative system and
government restructuring in four respects over the next five years,
head of the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform
(SCOPSR) Zhang Zhijian said in Beijing on Tuesday.
Zhang said the four respects included transforming the role of
government in line with the requirements of the developing market
economy and the World Trade Organization (WTO), streamlining local
governments in western areas to improve their efficiency in public
services, strengthening market supervisory institutions and
redefining non-profit and intermediary public institutions for a
clearer relationship with the government and a stronger market
role.
Zhang made the remarks at a signing ceremony of the Public Sector
Reform in the People's Republic of China program between the
SCOPSR, the International Center for Economic and Technical
Exchanges and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
This is the third phase of the SCOPSR-UNDP program that started in
1990.
Zhang said the SCOPSR-UNDP program had extensively involved
restructuring of the Chinese government over the years. The content
of the program mainly conformed to the requirements and agenda of
public sector reform in China. The major results of research
projects under the program had been adopted by Chinese decision
makers.
He
called the inception of the third phase of the program "a visionary
move."
The 5-year program will focus on four areas -- reform of the
administrative system and government restructuring after China's
accession to the WTO, efficiency of local governments in western
areas of China, market supervision and law enforcement, and reform
of the administrative system of non-profit and intermediary public
institutions.
The UNDP will contribute US$1 million to the program, and the
Chinese government US$1.17 million.
(
June 19, 2002)