Government departments should shift their functions from direct management to regulation and supervision, says an editorial in Southern Metropolis Daily. The following is an excerpt:

In the report delivered to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Hu Jintao pointed out that "we will step up our efforts to streamline government organs, explore ways to establish greater departments with integrated functions, and improve the mechanism of coordination and collaboration between government departments". It is reported that the central government is now drafting an overall plan to reform the institutional system.

The conception of "greater departments" is regarded as the breakthrough point for the next round of government reform.

The government has already conducted several rounds of reforms to streamline the organizations and the number has reduced by and large. Compared with other countries, however, China still has a large number of government departments.

The reason is not complicated: The current government structure was originally set in the age of planned economy when the government directly managed large numbers of enterprises and institutions as well as social issues. To execute its enormous functions, the government had to expand its organizations both vertically and horizontally.

It had to establish administrative departments for all industries. There used to be more than 50 ministerial level departments in the central government. This shows that the extensive and enormous functions are the reason for an inflated government.

The system of "greater departments" is good. Under this system the government's functions will be limited. All departments would only supervise and regulate instead of direct management in the fields they administer.

(China Daily December 4, 2007)