Beijing will restructure and reshuffle 19 departments of its municipal government by the end of June, sources said yesterday.

The move, part of the national government's institutional restructuring plan inked in March 2008, is expected to reduce redundancies and strengthen the city's economic and finance sectors.

Once the restructuring is complete, the municipal government will have a total of 46 departments, one more than the current 45, according to a notice published on the website of the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform.

The city will also trash 27 consulting and coordinating bodies, and temporary institutions, such as the Beijing 2008 projects construction and commanding office.

Beijing will set up an economics and information committee, which will integrate the functions relating to the industrial management of the current development and reform committee, the software industry, the industrial promotion bureau, the information work office and township enterprises management bureau.

The current drug supervision bureau will be placed under the management of the health department to intensify comprehensive supervision for food safety, the notice said.

Moreover, the municipal health bureau is set to replace the industry and commerce bureau to head the food security supervision department.

The city will also set up a finance work bureau to replace the former office for finance services work.

Exactly like the national reform, Beijing will establish a human resources and social security bureau and a housing and urban-rural development bureau.

Ren Jin, a professor with the National School of Administration, lauded the plan, saying it was "in accordance with the national reform, and integrated local characteristics".

Speaking about the establishment of the economics and information committee, Ren said: "As a center of national politics, economics, culture, science and technology, the city's service sector accounted for more than 73 percent of the regional production value last year, while industrial production value covered much less. So it is more practical to establish such a committee."

Wang Yukai, another professor with the school, said with the integration of the economics and information industries, the city was expecting to propel its economy and social development through IT.

Wang agreed the establishment of the finance work bureau will be "significant for local development".

"The step will intensify the macro-control and adjustment of the financial sector," he said.

Ren said "the reshuffle will help the city better cope with the influence of the global financial crisis".

Last year, the National People's Congress approved to set up five new "super ministries" as part of the government's institutional restructuring plan including the ministry of industry and information, the ministry of human resources and social security and the ministry of environmental protection.

To strengthen management in the energy sector, a high-level inter-ministerial coordinator, the national energy commission, was also established.

(China Daily February 26, 2009)