Deputies approve massive Cabinet shake-up

China's national legislature has approved a massive Cabinet restructuring plan that aims to improve government efficiency and make it more service-oriented.

The plan will create an immigration administration, an agency to coordinate foreign aid, a combined banking and insurance regulator, and ministries of veterans affairs, emergency management and natural resources.

It was adopted on Saturday at a plenary meeting of the ongoing first session of the 13th National People's Congress.

In an earlier briefing to lawmakers, State Councilor Wang Yong said the restructuring would strengthen the government's role in economic management, market supervision, social management, public services, and ecological and environmental protection.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, will have fewer entities at ministerial or vice-ministerial level, he said, adding that it will "focus on the needs of development and meet the people's expectations".

It will be the eighth time the State Council has undergone changes since the early 1980s. The latest restructuring plan is considered part of broader efforts by the Communist Party of China to deepen reform of the Party and State institutions.

"The reform comes at a crucial time," Chen Xi, a senior Party official, said in a recent People's Daily article. He said it will support efforts over the next three years to build a moderately prosperous society and lay a foundation for building a great modern socialist country by the middle of the century.

Speaking after the plan was approved, Peng Shou, an NPC deputy from Anhui province, said the restructuring is expected to improve government efficiency, as it will address the fact that some issues are currently handled by several departments.

Each ministry or commission will have clearly defined responsibilities, resulting in more coordinated policies to build a well-organized government and boost China's social and economic development, he said.

"As vice-president of a construction materials company, I hope the ministries and commissions will provide faster, higher-quality public services, which requires coordination," Peng added.

Guo Yilu, a deputy from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said he was most interested in the plan for a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, since he is a village Party secretary.

"I was born in Shang'e village and still live there, so policies related to rural areas are my top concern," he said.