Chinese lawmakers began to deliberate on Tuesday a proposed government reshuffle plan that involves the establishment of five "super ministries" and a ministerial-level energy commission.

The five "super ministries" include ministries of industry and information, human resources and social security, environmental protection, housing and urban-rural construction, and transport.

The following are first reactions to the reshuffle, from deputies to the First Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), members of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and people from different walks of life.

Overall reactions

"If government departments in charge of transport, energy and other sectors had better integrated their functions, China could have done a better job in fighting the winter weather disaster in the south." -- Chi Fulin, CPPCC member, executive president of China Institute for Reform and Development

"The proposed government reshuffle, the sixth in 30 years, is not of the biggest scale, but has the farthest-reaching effects in building China's socialist political culture." -- Prof. Wang Yukai, National School of Administration

"It will help create a better investment environment for businesses, who spend a lot of time under the current system waiting for their projects to be approved by several government departments." -- Wang Linxiang, NPC deputy, board chairman of Erdos Group, China's leading cashmere maker based in Inner Mongolia

The reshuffle involves 15 government departments and reduces the number of Cabinet ministries and commissions to 27 from the current 28.

After the reshuffle, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will focus on macro-regulation and phase out its involvement in economic micro-management and the examination and approval of specific projects. Ministry of Finance is to reform and improve its management of the budget and tax systems. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, is to strengthen the conduct of monetary policy and improve the exchange-rate mechanism.