Title: Deepening Party and State Institutional Reform Aims to Modernize National Governance
Date: [Insert Date]
In a bid to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and promote the modernization of the national governance system and capabilities, China is embarking on deepening the reform of party and state institutions. President Xi Jinping remarked that this reform is crucial to ensuring a more scientific, optimized, perfect, and efficient leadership of the Communist Party over socialist modernization in the country.
Recognizing that institutional reform is a complex and ongoing process, the Chinese government aims to continuously adjust and optimize the functional system of party and state institutions to better adapt to new missions, tasks, strategic arrangements, and work needs. This reform is built upon previous restructuring efforts since the Third Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee, and has been planned in line with the country’s development goals.
The reform emphasizes the need to seek progress while maintaining stability and aligns with the overall layout of the “five in one” and the “four comprehensive” strategic layout. It also addresses the requirements of building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development. The adjustment of institutional responsibilities in key areas aims to better coordinate the Party Central Committee, the National People’s Congress, the State Council, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, as well as central and local governments.
During the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which took place in Beijing from February 26 to 28, 2023, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech highlighting the significance of the reform.
This institutional reform includes the establishment of new party central decision-making and coordination institutions, functional departments, and offices. The aim is to promote strengths, address weaknesses, and enhance the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee in major tasks. The functional departments, offices, and dispatched agencies are urged to implement the party’s line, principles, and policies, and to strengthen coordination and cooperation based on their respective responsibilities.
Furthermore, the reform focuses on various key areas such as financial management, technology management, social management, data management, intellectual property management, Hong Kong, and Macao affairs, rural development, and aging issues. Each of these adjustments is aligned with the analysis of deep-seated contradictions and problems faced by China.
To ensure the successful implementation of the institutional reform plan, all regions and departments are urged to think and act within the overall context. The “three determinations” regulations, which are the basis for internal party regulations, must be strictly formulated and implemented according to the reform plan.
The success of the reform also depends on effective organization and implementation. The leadership of the Party Central Committee must be utilized throughout the process, and lessons learned from previous reforms, including integrating ideological and political work throughout, should be applied in an organized, step-by-step, and disciplined manner.
The reform will be overseen by the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, which will coordinate implementation efforts, and under the unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and provincial party committees.
The Chinese government aims to complete reform tasks at the central level by the end of 2023, and at the local level by the end of 2024.
As this undertaking progresses, it is essential to maintain stability and carefully execute decisions to ensure seamless transitions and effective implementation. The newly established departments should quickly establish their leadership teams and familiarize themselves with their responsibilities and tasks.
Through these comprehensive reform efforts, China is committed to modernizing its national governance system and enhancing its governance capabilities, leading the way towards a prosperous future for the country.