China’s central government will launch a series of “targeted inspections” of local governments across the country to make sure that local officials are correctly implementing Beijing’s policy directives, Reuters reports.
The inspectors will focus on policy issues that are considered priority areas by Beijing, such as measures to tackle poverty and pollution, promote innovation and revitalize rural areas, according to Xiao Jie, secretary general of the State Council.
Beijing has been ramping up efforts this year to crack down on “perfunctory” or “formalistic” implementation of policy at the local level, where officials water down the substance of central policies because they worry about the potential impact on jobs and economic growth in their regions.