[photopress:housing_chongging.jpg,full,alignright]China will create five new ‘super ministries.’ The goal of this move is to streamline the bureaucracy, clarify conflicting responsibilities, and curb corruption.
1. The National Development and Reform Commission — NDRC — will focus on macroeconomic planning, paying particular attention to price controls and the management of energy policy.
2. The Ministry of Finance will reform and improve its management over budget and taxation.
3. The People’s Bank of China will strengthen the system of monetary policies and improve the mechanism of exchange rate formation.
The State Council also plans to strengthen the coordination amongst the three above-mentioned bodies,
One area that has not been addressed is the lack of supervision over the NDRC. The three bodies are not on equal footing. The NDRC will set annual control targets to coordinate monetary, fiscal, and industry policies, and this means that it will remain a key player in the State Council.
The Ministry of Construction change to the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Construction was according to Forbes.com, in order to emphasize its role in building affordable housing for low-income families in China. Our illustration is of elderly low cost housing in Chongging.
As provincial governments and city councils assume powers the NDRC had in the past, the decision-making process will become more decentralized. This may bring about positive changes, as it should clarify which level of government is responsible for interpreting laws and regulations and approving projects. It is equally possible that the transition of power to the local level may have a negative impact on construction in areas of China.
The new organizational scheme places the Ministry of Construction’s urban public transport management functions under the new Ministry of Transportation.
The aim of the restructuring and creation of ‘super ministries’ is to improve regulation, rule of law, and adherence to a market-based economy while simultaneously curbing corruption, decreasing pollution, and cutting down on turf wars between ministries and disparate sectors of the bureaucracy. All of these are long-standing objectives of the central government.
Source: Mondaq