A State Council reshuffle and new cabinet members were all approved by the 7th plenary meeting of the First Session of the 10th National People?s Congress (NPC). So what is the effect of these changes? What are the tasks of the refashioned and new institutions? The Xinhua News Agency provides the following profiles of five leading institutions.
The State Development and Reform Commission (Ma Kai)
(formerly the State Development Planning Commission; renamed and enlarged)
Exploring and utilizing new thinking and measures to resolve difficulties during progress; promoting structural reform to eliminate institutional obstacles and corresponding reforms in each sector; taking advantage of the market to distribute resources more efficiently, and taking economic development and social tolerance into account during its work.
In order to maintain policy stability and continuity, stimulate domestic demand and strengthen economic macro-control, the commission will research potentialities and put forward resolutions which can ensure nation fulfillment for both short and long-term tasks. The short-term task is to balance the supply and demand of coal, electricity and transportation; the long-range tasks including resource strategy; economic adjustment of old industrial bases; development of resource cities; three agricultural issues (agriculture, rural development and living standards), petrol reserves strategy, employment and income gaps.
During the deepening of reform in administrative approval systems, and in investment and financing systems, the commission will cultivate a qualified cadre team.
Ministry of Commerce (Lu Fuyuan)
(a new governing institution)
The ministry will map out policies and strategies for both domestic and foreign trade as well international economic cooperation; make laws and regulations to regulate the market and circulation systems; guide work of utilizing foreign investments; organize international economic cooperation and foreign aids; investigate industrial losses, anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, protection measures and other work related to international trade environments and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The ministry will also try to cultivate the domestic market, especially rural markets, and exploit international markets; bring out effective measures to regulate market order and break monopolies, regional blockage and improper competition; deepen the policy of opening-up to prompt imports and exports; make good use of foreign investment and encourage domestic companies to invest in foreign countries, and organize international and regional economic cooperation.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (Liu Mingkang)
(a new governing institution)
The commission will take charge of banking supervision regulations; inspecting banking and financing institutions (safeguarding their legal and sound operation); checking banking and financing institutions? establishment, transfer, liquidation and business range; examining qualifications of senior executives in banking and financing institution sector, as well as working out and publicizing data and report forms of the banks.
The China Food and Drug Administration (Zheng Xiaoyu)
(formerly the State Drug Administration; renamed and enlarged)
Medicine, food and cosmetics influence health, social stability and development. The administration will cooperate with agriculture, business, sanitation and quality checking institutions to bring about a safer environment for the public. The bureau will lead direct comprehensive supervision on food safety and the investigation of important cases.
The China Work Safety Administration (Wang Xianzheng)
(name remains; upgraded)
Under the direction of the State Council, the bureau will endeavor to build and improve supervision systems for work safety with the cooperation of government, relevant departments, enterprise and society in general.
(China.org.cn translated by Feng Yikun, March 31, 2003)
