According to the Wall Street Journal (online) the Chinese government has renewed its commitment, already announced in December 2013 (see previous post) to reducing the number of license procedures that need state approval. The effort will be focused on areas like telecommunications, water, transport and online education, the State Council said in a statement after its first meeting of 2014. "Doing away with administrative snarls and giving a bigger role to market forces are priorities for Premier Li Keqiang. He pledged to cut by a third the things demanding state stamps of approval by the end of his first five years in power. The council will publish a list of things still needing an administrative OK from all government agencies, it said in a statement."
A December article in Reuters reported the sweeping reforms published in November 2013 by China's ruling Communist Party which promised to free up the market by simplifying administration and "restrict central government management of microeconomic issues to the greatest possible extent". "Sources have said the policy document is likely to pave the way for a long-anticipated restructuring of government departments next March, which could result in the creation of new energy and environment "superministries" and a scaling back of the roles and responsibilities of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The NDRC, a sprawling superministry with a huge swathe of duties ranging from cutting greenhouse gases to deciding energy prices, has long been under fire for resisting reform and for making heavy-handed interventions in the economy."
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