Recently, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) issued the Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Agencies and issued a notice requesting all regions and ministries to conscientiously implement it in light of actual conditions.

The full text of the Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Agencies is as follows.

To deepen reform of the Party and state agencies at this new historical turning point, we must comprehensively implement the spirit of the 19th Party Congress and persist in taking Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Important Thinking of the “Three Represents,” the Scientific Development Concept, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guide. We must firmly establish political consciousness, consciousness of the big picture, consciousness of the core leadership, and consciousness of falling in line with Party directives. We must resolutely maintain the authority and centralized unified leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. We must adapt to the development requirements of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, persist in the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, and adhere to the proper direction of reform. We must persist in being people-centered, and persist in comprehensively ruling the country according to law. We must take strengthening the Party’s total leadership as our command, and take modernizing our national governance structure and governance capacity as our orientation, with a focus on promoting the optimization, coordination, and efficient utilization of the functions of Party and state agencies. We must reform the setup of agencies, optimize the allocation of functions, and deepen the transformation of functions, methods, and work styles. We must improve our efficiency and effectiveness, and actively construct a functional system of Party and state agencies with perfected systems, scientific norms, and high operational efficiency, to provide a powerful system guarantee for a decisive victory in establishing a well-off society in an all-round way, setting out on our new journey of building a modernized socialist country, and realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

1. Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Agencies

The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Party exercises overall leadership over all areas of endeavor in every part of the country. To deepen the institutional reform of the Party Central Committee agencies, there must be a focus on strengthening the Party’s overall leadership systems. The Party’s organizational structure must be optimized, and the Party’s leadership system for major tasks must be established and improved. Better play must be given to the role of functional departments, and the merger or establishment of joint Party-government offices must be promoted where duties are similar. Ministerial duties must be optimized, and the Party’s ability and resolve to chart our course, craft overall plans, design policy, and promote reform must be improved. Pervasive Party leadership and firmer and more forceful Party leadership must be ensured.

(1) The National Supervisory Commission (国家监察委员会) will be formed. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over anti-corruption work, the organic integration of internal Party supervision and state organ supervision and Party disciplinary inspection and state supervision must be realized, and full supervisory coverage of all public officials who exercise official power must be achieved. To do so, the duties of the Ministry of Supervision and the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s anti-corruption duties, such as investigation and punishment of corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty, and prevention of job-related crimes will be integrated. The National Supervisory Commission will be formed to work together with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to perform the two duties of discipline inspection and supervision, implementing a single working agency with two organ names (一套工作机构、两个机关名称).

Major duties will include upholding the Party Charter and other internal Party regulations, reviewing the implementation of the Party line, directives, policies, and resolutions, supervising the exercise of power by Party cadres, upholding the constitution and laws, supervising and inspecting public officials’ performance of their duties in accordance with the law, exercising power on behalf of the public, clean governance, and morality and personal integrity, and investigating suspected job-related violations and job-related crimes and making decisions on administrative sanctions, holding leaders accountable who fail to perform their duties, neglect their duties, and neglect their obligations, and being responsible for organizing and coordinating the construction of Party style, clean government, and anti-corruption propaganda.

The National Supervisory Commission is created by the National People’s Congress (NPC) and is subject to the supervision of the NPC and its standing committee.

The Ministry of Supervision and the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention will no longer be retained.

(2) The Central Commission for Comprehensively Ruling the Country According to Law (中央全面依法治国委员会) will be formed. Comprehensively ruling the country according to is the essential requirement and important guarantee of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In order to strengthen the Party Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership over the establishment of the rule of law in China, improve the Party’s leadership system and working mechanisms for comprehensively ruling the country according to law, and better implement and more comprehensively rule the country according to law, the Central Commission for Comprehensively Ruling the Country According to Law will be formed. It will be responsible for the overall top-level design, overall layout, arrangements and coordination, and overall promotion and implementation of ruling the country according to law, and it will act as a decision-making and coordinating body of the Party Central Committee.

Major duties will include arranging and coordinating the work of comprehensively ruling the country according to law, upholding the unity of the rule of law, law-based government, and law-based administration as well as the integral development of a rule of law country, a rule of law government, and a rule of law society as a whole, studying major affairs and major issues concerning the comprehensive ruling of the country according to law, coordinating the promotion of scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, fair justice, and a law-abiding citizenship, and coordinating and promoting the establishment of a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and a socialist rule of law country.

The Office of The Central Commission for Comprehensively Ruling the Country According to Law will be established in the Ministry of Justice.

(3) The Central Auditing Commission (中央审计委员会) will be formed. In order to strengthen the leadership of the Party Central Committee over audit work, build a centralized, unified, comprehensive, authoritative, and efficient audit and supervision system, and better utilize the role of audits and supervision, the Central Auditing Commission will be formed. It will act as a decision-making and coordinating body of the Party Central Committee.

Major duties will include researching, proposing, and organizing the implementation of guidelines and policies for adhering to the Party’s leadership and strengthening Party building in the field of auditing, reviewing major audit and supervision policies and reform plans, reviewing the implementation of the annual central budget and other fiscal expenditure audit reports, and deliberating on decision-making and auditing and supervising other major matters.

The Office of the Central Auditing Commission will be established in the National Audit Office.

(4) The Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, Central Leading Group for Cybersecurity and Informatization, Central Finance and Economics Leading Group, and Central Leading Group for Foreign Affairs will be changed to commissions. In order to strengthen the Party Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership over major work involving the overall state of the Party and the country, decision-making and the arrangement and coordination of duties must be strengthened. The Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, Central Leading Group for Cybersecurity and Informatization, Central Leading Group for Finance and Economics, and Central Leading Group for Foreign Affairs will be respectively changed to the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform (中央全面深化改革委员会), Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (中央网络安全和信息化委员会), Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission (中央财经委员会), and Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Work (中央外事工作委员会). They will be responsible for the top-level design, overall layout, arrangement and coordination, overall promotion, and implementation of major work in their respective fields.

The offices of the four committees are, respectively, the Office of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, and Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Work.

(5) The Central Leading Group for Education Work (中央教育工作领导小组) will be formed. In order to strengthen the Party Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership over education work, the Party’s education policies must be comprehensively implemented, Party building in the field of education must be strengthened, and school ideological and political work must be propelled forward. The fundamental task of cultivating people with high moral standards must be implemented, education reform must be deepened, the modernization of education must be accelerated, and education that satisfies the people must be delivered. To do so, the Central Leading Group for Education Work will be formed, and it will act as a decision-making and coordinating body of the Party Central Committee.

Major duties will include researching, proposing, and organizing the implementation of guidelines and policies for adhering to the Party’s leadership and strengthening Party building in the field of education, researching and deploying thought, political, and ideological work in the field of education, reviewing national education development strategies, medium and long-term planning, major education policies, and system reform plans, and coordinating on and resolving major problems in education work.

The Secretariat of the Central Leading Group for Education Work will be established in the Ministry of Education.

(6) Establish the Working Committee for Central and State Organs (中央和国家机关工作委员会). In order to strengthen the Party building of the Central Committee and state organs, implement the requirements of strict Party governance in an all-round way, deepen the advancement of the new great project of party building, uniformly deploy the Party building work of the Central Committee and state organs, and to integrate resources and achieve synergies, the duties of the Working Committee for Organs Directly Under the Central Committee and the Working Committee for Central and State Organs will be integrated to form the Working Committee for Central and State Organs of the CCP Central Committee. It will act as an agency of the Party Central Committee.

Major duties will include unifying the organization, planning, and deployment of the Party work of Central Committee and state organs, guiding the political, ideological, work style, and discipline tasks of Party building of the Central Committee and state organs, guiding the implementation of the supervision and management of party members, especially party cadres, leading the Party’s discipline inspection work in the various departments of the Central Committee and state organs, and centrally guiding the Party building work of industry associations and chambers of commerce.

The Working Committee for Organs Directly Under the Central Committee and the Working Committee for Central and State Organs will no longer be retained.

(7) The new CCP Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) will be formed. Party schools are the main channel for our Party to educate and train party cadres. In order to comprehensively strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over the work of cadre training, coordinate and plan cadre training work, coordinate major theoretical research on deployment, and coordinate and guide the work of party schools (academies of governance) at all levels across the country, the duties of the CCP Central Party School and National Academy of Governance will be integrated to form the new CCP Central Party School (National Academy of Governance). It will be implemented as a single institution with two names (一个机构两块牌子) and will act as a public institution directly under the Party Central Committee.

Major duties will include undertaking the training of national high- and mid-level leading cadres and young and middle-aged reserve cadres, carrying out research on major theoretical and practical issues, and researching and propagating Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, undertaking the decision-making consulting services of the Party Central Committee, cultivating the backbone of Marxist theory, and providing professional guidance to party schools (academies of governance) at all levels across the country.

(8) The Central Party History and Literature Research Institute (中央党史和文献研究员) will be formed. Party history and documentation work is an important component of the Party’s cause and has an irreplaceable position and role in the overall state of the Party and the country. In order to strengthen the Party’s historical and theoretical research, coordinate the resources of Party history research, document editing, and compilation of works, build a comprehensive system of Party theory research, promote the combination of Party theory research with practical research, and build a high-end platform for the study of Party history and theory, the duties of the Central Party History Research Center, Central Party Literature Research Center, and Central Compilation and Translation Bureau will be integrated to form the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, which will act as a public institution directly under the Party Central Committee. The Central Party History and Literature Research Institute will retain the name Central Compilation and Translation Bureau for external purposes.

Major duties will include the study of the basic theories of Marxism, the Sinicization of Marxism and its main representatives, the study of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the study of CCP history, the editing and compilation of important documents of the classic writers of Marxism, important documents of the Party and the state, and the works of major leaders, and the collection and organization of major documents of Party history.

The Central Party History Research Center, the Central Party Literature Research Center, and the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau will no longer be retained.

(9) The Central Organization Department will have unified management over the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform (中央机构编制委员会办公室). In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over institution establishment and institutional reform, organize the management of institution establishment and cadre management systems and mechanisms, and adjust and optimize the leadership system of the Central Institutional Organization Commission (中央机构编制委员会), it will act as a decision-making and coordinating body of the Party Central Committee and will coordinate the establishment of the functions of the Party and state institution.

The State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform will act as the office of the Central Institutional Organization Commission, will undertake the routine work of the Central Institutional Organization Commission, and will be managed by the Central Organization Department.

(10) The Central Organization Department will have unified management over the work of the civil service. In order to better implement the principle of Party management of cadres and to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over civil servants, better coordinate cadre management, and establish a unified, standardized, and efficient civil service management system, the State Administration of Civil Service will be incorporated into the Central Organization Department. The Central Organization Department will retain the name State Administration of Civil Service for external purposes.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Organization Department concerning the administration of the civil service will include the unified management of civil service recruitment and deployment, appraisals, rewards, and punishments, training, wages, and welfare, researching and formulating civil service management policies and drafting legislation and organizing its implementation, guiding national civil service corps building and performance management, and being responsible for international exchanges and cooperation for national civil service management.

The stand-alone State Administration of Civil Service will no longer be retained.

(11) The Central Propaganda Department will have unified management over press and publication work. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over press and public opinion work, strengthen management over publishing activities, and develop and encourage a socialist publishing industry with Chinese characteristics, the news publishing and management duties of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (国家新闻出版广电总局) will be incorporated into the Central Propaganda Department. The Central Propaganda Department will use the name National Press and Publication Administration (National Copyright Administration) for external purposes.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Propaganda Department concerning press and publication management will include implementing the Party’s propaganda work policies, formulating and supervising the implementation of management policies for the press and publication industry, managing press and publication administrative affairs, planning and coordinating press and publication business and industrial development, supervising and managing the content and quality of publications, supervising and managing the printing industry, managing copyrights, and managing the import of publications.

(12) The Central Propaganda Department will have unified management over film work. In order to give better play to the special and important role of film in propagating ideas, culture, and entertainment and to develop and encourage the film industry, the film management duties of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television will be incorporated into the Central Propaganda Department. The Central Propaganda Department will use the name China Film Administration (国家电影局) for external purposes.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Propaganda Department concerning film management will include managing cinema administrative affairs, guiding and supervising movie production, distribution, and screening, organizing the review of movie content, guiding and coordinating major national film activities, and undertaking foreign cooperation in production and international cooperation and exchanges on movie imports and exports.

(13) The Central United Front Work Department will have unified leadership over the National Ethnic Affairs Commission. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over ethnic minority work, place ethnic minority work within the scope of the unified deployments, arrangements, and coordination of united front work to thus combine efforts, better implement the Party’s ethnic minority work policies, and better coordinate and handle major issues in ethnic minority work, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission will report to the leadership of the Central United Front Work Department. The National Ethnic Affairs Commission will still act as a component of the State Council.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central United Front Work Department concerning ethnic minority work will include implementing the Party’s ethnic minority work policies, researching and formulating policies and major measures for ethnic minority work, coordinating and handling major issues in ethnic minority work, properly deploying minority cadres according to the division of labor, leading the National Ethnic Affairs Commission in managing ethnic minority work in accordance with the law, and comprehensively promoting the development of minority ethnicity undertakings.

(14) The Central United Front Work Department will have unified management over religious affairs work. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over religious affairs, comprehensively implement the Party’s fundamental guidelines on religious affairs, adhere to the Sinicization of China’s religions, coordinate united front and religious affairs resources and efforts, and actively guide religions to in adapting to socialist society, the State Administration for Religious Affairs will be incorporated into the Central United Front Work Department. The Central United Front Work Department will retain the name State Administration for Religious Affairs for external purposes.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central United Front Work Department concerning the management of religious affairs will include implementing the party’s basic guidelines and policies concerning religious affairs, researching and formulating policies and measures for religious affairs and supervising their implementation, arranging and coordinating on religious affairs work, managing administration of religious affairs in accordance with the law, protecting citizens’ freedom of religious belief and routine religious activities, and consolidating and developing a patriotic united front within religious circles.

The standalone State Administration for Religious Affairs will no longer be retained.

(15) The Central United Front Work Department will have unified management over overseas Chinese affairs. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over overseas united front work, more extensively unite with and contact overseas Chinese and returned overseas Chinese, and give better play to the role of mass organizations, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council will be incorporated into the Central United Front Work Department. The Central United Front Work Department will retain the name Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council for external purposes.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central United Front Work Department concerning overseas Chinese affairs will include unified leadership over overseas united front work, managing the administrative affairs of overseas Chinese affairs, being responsible for formulating overseas Chinese affairs work policies and planning, surveying and researching the status of overseas Chinese and returned overseas Chinese at home and abroad, arranging and coordinating on departmental and social organization work concerning overseas Chinese affairs, contacting relevant organizations and representatives in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas, and guiding and promoting overseas Chinese propaganda, cultural exchanges, and Chinese education work.

The duties of the Conference for Friendship of Overseas Chinese Associations, etc., of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council will be exercised by the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, giving play to the role of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese as a bridge between the Party and the government to connect to the majority of returned overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese.

The stand-alone Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council will no longer be retained.

(16) The duties of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission will be optimized. In order to maintain national cyberspace security and interests, the National Computer Network and Information Security Management Center is adjusted from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will still be responsible for coordinating the construction of telecommunication networks, the internet, and dedicated communication networks, organizing and guiding technological innovation and technological progress in the communications industry, and providing a guarantee for the infrastructure construction and technological innovation of the National Computer Network and Information Security Management Center. The management system, main duties, and staffing of the telecommunications management set up in each province (autonomous region, province-level municipality) remain unchanged.

(17) There will no longer be a Central Leading Group for Safeguarding Maritime Rights and Interests (中央维护海洋权益工作领导小组). In order to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, better coordinate the resources and forces of diplomatic and foreign affairs and maritime authorities, the work of safeguarding maritime rights and interests will be incorporated into the overall work of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs for unified planning and deployment. There will no longer be a Central Leading Group for Safeguarding Maritime Rights and Interests, and associated duties will be borne by the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and its office. An office for the protection of maritime rights and interests will be established in the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and its office concerning the safeguarding of maritime rights and interests will include organizing, coordinating, guiding, and urging all relevant parties to implement the Party Central Committee’s decisions on safeguarding maritime rights and interests, collecting, analyzing, and evaluating intelligence and information related to national maritime rights and interests, coordinating on and responding to emergencies, organizing research to safeguard major issues of maritime rights and interests and putting forward countermeasures and suggestions.

(18) There will no longer be a Central Commission for Overall Governance of Social Order (中央社会治安综合治理委员会) or its office. In order to strengthen the Party’s arrangement and coordination of political and legal affairs work (政法工作) and the comprehensive management of public security, accelerate the construction of a public security prevention and control system, there will no longer be a Central Central Commission for Overall Governance of Social Order or its office, and associated duties will be borne by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee concerning comprehensive management of public security will include being responsible for organizing, coordinating, promoting, and urging all relevant departments in all regions to carry out comprehensive management of public security, summarizing and grasping the dynamics of the comprehensive management of public security, coordinating and dealing with major sudden incidents, studying major issues related to the comprehensive management of public security, and proposing measures and suggestions for the comprehensive management of public security.

(19) There will no longer be a Central Leading Group for Maintaining Stability or its office. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over political and legal affairs work, better arrange and coordinate the resources and efforts of political and legal affairs organs, strengthen the systematic nature of stability work, and promote the establishment of a peaceful China, there will no longer be a Central Leading Group for Maintaining Stability or its office, and associated duties will be borne by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee concerning the safeguarding of social stability will include arranging and coordinating the handling by political and legal affairs organs of major issues that affect social stability, coordinating responses to and dealing with major sudden incidents (重大突发事件), grasping, analyzing, and judging the dynamics of social stability, and preventing and resolving social contradictions (社会矛盾) and risks that affect stability.

(20) The Central Leading Group for Preventing and Handling Cult Issues (中央防范和处理邪教问题领导小组) and the duties of its office duties will be allocated to the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the Ministry of Public Security. In order to better arrange and coordinate the governance of security and social stability work, establish and improve a working mechanism for preventing and managing cults through Party committees and government leaders, departmental divisions of responsibilities, and social participation, give full play to the function of political and legal organs, improve organization, coordination, and execution capabilities, and form a workforce and standardized work mechanisms, the duties of preventing and handling cult issues will be borne by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the Ministry of Public Security.

Following the restructuring, the major duties of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee concerning preventing and handling cult issues will include coordinating and guiding relevant departments in performing anti-cult work, analyzing and judging relevant information and making policy recommendations to the Party Central Committee, and coordinating and dealing with major sudden incidents. The major duties of the Ministry of Public Security concerning preventing and handling cults will include collecting and analyzing the statuses of cult organizations that affect social stability and endanger public security, conducting analysis and evaluation, and cracking down on illegal and criminal activities of cult organizations in accordance with the law.

2. Deepening the Reform of National People’s Congress (NPC) Institutions

The people’s congress system is a fundamental political institutional arrangement that adheres to the Party’s leadership, allows the people to act as the masters of the country, and governs the country according to law. We must adapt to the changes in the main contradictions of our society in the new era, and the establishment of special committees of the NPC must be improved to give better play to its functions.

(21) The NPC Social Development Affairs Committee will be formed. In order to adapt to the “five in one” overall layout, strengthen the building of society, create new forms of social management, better guarantee and improve the people’s livelihoods, and promote the establishment of legal systems in the social fields, the associated duties of the NPC Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee, Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, and Education, Science, Art, and Health Committee will be integrated to form the NPC Social Development Affairs Committee, which will act as a special committee of the NPC.

Major duties will include researching, formulating, and reviewing relevant proposals and draft laws on labor and employment, social security, civil affairs, mass organizations, and production safety, carrying out relevant investigations and studies, and carrying out relevant law enforcement investigations.

(22) The NPC Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee will be renamed the NPC Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee. In order to improve the supervision systems of the Party and the state, meet the needs of reform for the national supervision system, and promote the smooth development of national supervision work, the NPC Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee will be renamed the NPC Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee.

On the basis of its original work duties, the NPC Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee will also have the added duties of cooperating with the deepening of national supervision system reform, improving the national supervision system, and promoting the realization of an organic unification of internal Party supervision and state organ supervision.

(23) The NPC Law Committee will be renamed the NPC Constitution and Law Committee. In order to promote the spirit of the constitution, enhance constitutional awareness, uphold the authority of the constitution, strengthen the implementation and supervision of the constitution, and promote the work of constitutional review, the NPC Law Committee will be renamed the NPC Constitution and Law Committee.

While the NPC Constitution and Law Committee continues to undertake the unified review of draft laws, it will also undertake the duties of promoting the implementation of the constitution, carrying out constitutional interpretation, promoting constitutional review, strengthening constitutional supervision, and coordinating with constitutional propaganda.

3. Deepening the Reform of State Council Institutions

To deepen the reform of State Council institutions, we must focus on transforming government functions, and resolutely get rid of the constraints of systems and mechanisms so as to allow the market to play the decisive role in the allocation of resources and to give better play to the role of the government. There must be a focus on promoting high-quality development, building a modern economic system, and strengthening and improving the government’s economic regulation, market supervision, social management, public services, and ecological and environmental protection functions. The conditions and practical requirements of the new era must be integrated into efforts to promote the functional optimization and adjustment of institutions in key areas and key links. A government administrative system with clear duties and governance according to law must be built. The public trustworthiness and executive power of the government must be enhanced, and the construction of a service-oriented government that satisfies the people must be accelerated.

(24) The Ministry of Natural Resources will be formed. Building an ecological civilization is a thousand-year plan for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets must be established and practiced, and the management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, and grasslands must be coordinated. In order to unify the execution of all people’s responsibilities as owners of natural resources and assets, unify the execution of all our responsibilities for land and space use management and ecological protection and restoration, and strive to solve the problems of irresponsible natural resource owners and overlapping spatial planning, the duties of the Ministry of Land and Resources, the organization and planning duties for main functional areas of the National Development and Reform Commission, the urban and rural planning management duties of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the water resources surveying and confirmation and management duties for rights and registration of the Ministry of Water Resources, the grassland resources surveying and confirmation and management duties for rights and registration of the Ministry of Agriculture, the forest, wetland, and other resource and confirmation and management duties for rights and registration of the State Forestry Administration, the duties of the State Oceanic Administration, and the duties of the National Bureau of Surveying, Mapping and Geographic Information will be integrated to form the Ministry of Natural Resources, which will act as a component of the State Council. The Ministry of Natural Resources will retain the name State Oceanic Administration for external purposes.

Major duties will include overseeing the development, utilization, and protection of natural resources, establishing a spatial planning system and supervising its implementation, fulfilling all kinds of natural resource asset owner duties of for all the people, uniformly investigating and confirming rights and registration, establishing a system for the paid use of natural resources, and being responsible for the management of the surveying, mapping, and geological survey industries.

The Ministry of Land and Resources, State Oceanic Administration, and the National Bureau of Surveying, Mapping, and Geological Information will no longer be retained.

(25) The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (生态环境部) will be formed. Protecting the environment is our country’s basic national policy. The ecological environment must be treated like a living being. The most stringent ecological and environmental protection system must be implemented, methods and lifestyles of green development must be formed, and there must be a focus on resolving outstanding environmental problems. In order to integrate scattered ecological and environmental protection duties, uniform implement ecological and urban and rural pollution discharge supervision and administrative law enforcement duties, strengthen environmental pollution control, ensure national ecological security, and build a beautiful China, the duties of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the duties of the National Development and Reform Commission to tackle climate change and reduce emissions, the duties of the Ministry of Land and Resources to supervise and prevent groundwater pollution, the duties of the Ministry of Water Resources to compile water functional zoning, sewage outfall management, and river basin water environmental protection, the duties of the Ministry of Agriculture to supervise and guide agricultural non-point source pollution control, the marine environmental protection duties of the State Oceanic Administration, and the environmental protection duties of the General Office of the State Council South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Committee in the project area of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project will be integrated to form the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, which will act as a component of the State Council. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will retain the name National Nuclear Safety Administration for external purposes. The Ministry of Natural Resources will retain the name State Oceanic Administration for external purposes.

Major duties will include drafting and organizing the implementation of ecological and environmental policies, plans, and standards, being uniformly responsible for ecological and environmental monitoring and law enforcement, supervising and managing pollution prevention, nuclear and radiation safety, and organizing the development of central environmental protection inspections.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection will no longer be retained.

(26) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) will be formed. The issues of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers are a fundamental issue related to our ruling stratagem (国计) and the people’s livelihoods, and the resolution of the “three rural” issues must always be the top priority of the Party’s work. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over the “three rural” issues, continue to give priority to the development of agriculture and rural areas, coordinate the implementation of the strategy of rural revitalization, promote the all-round upgrade of agriculture, all-round progress in rural areas, and all-round development of farmers, and accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, the duties of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group and the management duties for the agriculture investment projects of the National Development and Reform Commission, the comprehensive agricultural development projects of the Ministry of Finance, the farmland improvement projects of the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the farmland water conservancy construction projects of the Ministry of Water Resources will be integrated to form the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to act as a component of the State Council. The Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group will be established in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Major duties will include coordinating research and organizing the implementation of strategy, planning, and policies for the “three rural” issues, supervising and managing planting, animal husbandry, fisheries, farm reclamation, agricultural mechanization, and the quality and safety of agricultural products, and being responsible for the management of agricultural investments.

The fishing vessel inspection and supervision and management duties of the Ministry of Agriculture will be incorporated into the Ministry of Transport.

The Ministry of Agriculture will no longer be retained.

(27) The Ministry of Culture and Tourism (文化和旅游部) will be formed. To meet the people’s new expectations for a better life, a wealth of spiritual food must be provided. In order to enhance and demonstrate cultural self-confidence, adhere to the development path of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, coordinate the development of cultural undertakings, the cultural industry, and tourism resources, and improve the country’s cultural soft power and Chinese cultural influence, the duties of the Ministry of Culture and the National Tourism Administration will be integrated to form the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which will act as a component of the State Council.

Major duties will include implementing the Party’s cultural work guidelines and policies, studying and formulating policies and measures for cultural and tourism work, planning the overall development of cultural undertakings, cultural industries, and tourism, implementing in-depth cultural benefits projects, organizing and implementing the general survey, excavation, and protection of cultural resources, maintaining the order of various cultural markets, including tourism markets, strengthening foreign cultural exchanges, and promoting the “going global” (走出去) of Chinese culture.

The Ministry of Culture and the National Tourism Administration will no longer be retained.

(28) The National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委员会) will be formed. The health of the people is an important symbol of national pride and prosperity. To promote the implementation of the Healthy China Strategy, establish the concept of general hygiene and general health, shift from focusing on treating diseases to focusing on people’s health, prevent and control major diseases, actively respond to the aging of the population, accelerate the development of undertakings and industries related to the elderly, and provide all-round full-cycle health services for the people, the duties of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Office of the Leading Group for Deepening the Reform of the Medical and Health Care System, and the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging, the duty of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to lead the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the duties of the State Administration of Work Safety to supervise and manage occupational safety and health will be integrated to form the National Health Commission, which will act as a component of the State Council.

Major duties will include drafting national health policies, coordinating and advancing the deepening of medical and health system reform, organizing and establishing a national essential medicine system, supervising and managing public health, medical services, and health emergencies, being responsible for family planning management and services, and formulating policies and measures to deal with the aging of the population and the integration of medical care and elder care.

The National Working Commission on Aging will be retained, and its routine work shall be undertaken by the National Health Commission. The Chinese Association of Aging, which was managed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, will now be managed by the National Health Commission. The National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine will also be managed by the National Health Commission.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission will no longer be retained. There will no longer be an Office of the Leading Group for Deepening the Reform of the Medical and Health Care System.

(29) The Ministry of Veterans Affairs (退役军人事务部) will be formed. In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of military members, strengthen the construction of a service guarantee system for veterans, establish and improve a centralized and unified management and support system for veterans with clear duties, and ensure that the military becomes a profession respected by the whole of society, the duties of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to provide special care and placement for veterans, the duties of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to arrange for officer transfers, and the associated duties of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the CMC Logistic Support Department will be integrated to form the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, which will act as a component of the State Council.

Major duties will include formulating and organizing the implementation of policies and regulations concerning ideological, political, and management support for veterans, awarding commendation to veterans who have sacrificed and contributed to the Party, the country, and the people through their role as spiritual models and values leaders, being responsible for the transfer and placement of military cadres, who have switched to civilian service, who have been demobilized, who have retired, and for soldiers who have left service, as well as providing service management and treatment guarantees for veterans who choose their own jobs, organizing and carrying out education and training for veterans along with preferential treatment and pensions, guiding the work of supporting the army and giving preferential treatment to the families of soldiers and martyrs nationwide, being responsible for honorary rewards for martyrs and veterans, maintaining military cemeteries, and organizing commemorative activities.

(30) The Ministry of Emergency Management (应急管理部) will be formed. Improving national emergency management capabilities and levels, improving disaster prevention, mitigation, and disaster relief capabilities, and ensuring the safety of people’s lives and property and social stability are major tasks for the Party in governing the country. In order to prevent and resolve major safety risks, improve the public safety system, integrate and optimize emergency forces and resources, and promote an emergency management system with Chinese characteristics and unified command that combines specialized and non-specialized industries, is highly responsive, interconnected, and ready for both peacetime and wartime use, the duties of the State Administration of Work Safety, the emergency management duties of the General Office of the State Council (国务院办公厅), the fire management duties of the Ministry of Public Security, the disaster relief duties of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the geological disaster prevention duties of the Ministry of Land and Resources, the flood and drought disaster prevention duties of the Ministry of Water Resources, the grassland fire prevention duties of the Ministry of Agriculture, the forest fire prevention duties of the State Forestry Administration, the earthquake emergency rescue duties of the China Earthquake Administration, and the duties of the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Command, National Commission for Disaster Reduction, the State Council Earthquake Relief Command, and National Forest Fire Prevention Command will be integrated to form the Ministry of Emergency Management, which will act as a component of the State Council.

Major duties will include organizing national emergency response preparedness contingencies and plans, instructing all regions and departments to respond to emergencies, promoting the establishment of emergency plan systems and drills; establishing a disaster reporting system and publishing uniform disaster updates, coordinating the establishment of emergency forces and material reserves and making unified dispatches during disaster relief, organizing the establishment of a disaster relief system, guiding emergency rescues for production safety emergencies and natural disasters, being responsible for the work of the national commands for responding to particularly severe disasters; guiding the prevention and control of fires, floods and droughts, and geological disasters; and being responsible for the comprehensive supervision and management of production safety and the supervision and management of production safety in the industrial, mining, and commercial industries. Following the transformation of the Public Security Fire Force and the Armed Police Forest Force, concerted work with emergency rescue corps, such as for occupational safety, as a comprehensive standing emergency backbone force, will be managed by the Ministry of Emergency Management; it will implement special management and policy guarantees, adopt job rank sequence and management methods that conform to respective characteristics, improve professional honors, and maintain system vitality and combat effectiveness. The Ministry of Emergency Management should handle the dynamics between disaster prevention and relief, clarify the division of duties across relevant departments and localities, and establish mechanisms for coordination and cooperation.

The China Earthquake Administration and State Administration of Coal Mine Safety will be under the administration of the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The State Administration of Work Safety will no longer be retained.

(31) The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) will be reformed. Innovation is the primary driving force for development and a strategic pillar for building a modern economy. In order to better implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, the strategy of strengthening the country with talent, and the innovation-driven development strategy, strengthen the construction of a national innovation system, optimize the configuration of science and technology (S&T) resources, promote the construction of a high-end S&T innovative talent team, improve the incentive mechanism for technological innovation, and accelerate the construction of an innovation-oriented country, the duties of the MOST and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs will be integrated to reform the MOST, which will act as a component of the State Council. The MOST will retain the name State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for external purposes.

Major duties will include formulating directives for the national innovation-driven development strategy, S&T development, basic research plans and policies and their organization and implementation, coordinating and promoting the establishment of the national innovation system and the reform of the S&T system, organizing and coordinating major national basic research and applied basic research, preparing national major S&T project plans and supervising their implementation, taking the lead in establishing a unified national S&T management platform and scientific research project funding coordination, evaluation, and supervision mechanisms, and being responsible for the work of recruiting foreign know-how.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China will be moved under the management of MOST.

The standalone State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs will no longer be retained.

(32) The Ministry of Justice will be reformed. Comprehensively ruling the country according to law is a profound revolution in national governance and must be under the leadership of the Party. The rule of law must be followed, institutional mechanisms must be innovated, and the practice of governing of the country according to law must be comprehensively deepened. In order to implement the basic strategy of ruling the country according to law in an all-round way, to strengthen the party’s centralized and unified leadership for the construction of a government under the rule of law, to coordinate administrative legislation, administrative law enforcement, legal affairs management, and law popularization, and to promote the alignment of government work with the rule of law, the duties of the Ministry of Justice and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院法制办公室) will be integrated to reform the Ministry of Justice, which will act as a component of the State Council.

Major duties will include being responsible for drafting relevant laws and administrative regulations, being responsible for legislative coordination and filing reviews and interpretation, comprehensively coordinating administrative law enforcement, guiding administrative reconsideration and responding to litigation, being responsible for the popularization of laws, being responsible for prison, drug rehabilitation, and community corrections management, being responsible for attorney notarization and judicial appraisal arbitration management, and undertaking national judicial assistance work.

The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council will no longer be retained.

(33) The duties of the National Audit Office will be optimized. Reforming the audit management system to ensure the independent exercise of audit supervision powers in accordance with the law is an important aspect of improving the supervision systems of the Party and the state. In order to integrate audit and supervision powers, reduce overlapping responsibilities, avoid repeated inspections and blind spots of supervision, and enhance the effectiveness in supervision, the major project inspections of the National Development and Reform Commission, the supervision and inspection of the implementation of the central budget and other fiscal revenues and expenditures of the Ministry of Finance, the state-owned enterprise (SOE) cadre economic responsibility audits of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council and the duties of the Board of Supervisors of Key Large State-Owned Enterprises (国有重点大型企业监事会) will be incorporated into the National Audit Office to integrate and optimize the dispatched audit supervision force accordingly and to build a unified and efficient audit and supervision system.

There will no longer be a Board of Supervisors of Key Large State-Owned Enterprises.

(34) The State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局) will be formed. Reforming the market supervision system and implementing unified market supervision are key links in establishing a unified, open, competitive, and orderly modern market economy. In order to improve the market supervision system, promote the implementation of the quality powerhouse (质量强国) strategy, create a market environment of honesty, trustworthiness, and fair competition, further promote the comprehensive law enforcement of market supervision, strengthen product quality and safety supervision, and let the people buy with confidence, use with confidence, and eat with confidence, the duties of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the duties of the General Administration for Quality, Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine, the duties of the China Food and Drug Administration, the price supervision and inspection and anti-monopoly law enforcement duties of the National Development and Reform Commission, the duties of the Ministry of Commerce on concentrating anti-monopoly enforcement on operators and the duties of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council will be integrated to form the State Administration for Market Regulation to act as an institution directly under the State Council.

Major duties will include being responsible for the comprehensive supervision and management of the market, uniformly registering market entities and establishing information disclosure and sharing mechanisms, organizing the comprehensive law enforcement of market supervision, undertaking unified anti-monopoly law enforcement, standardizing and maintaining market order, organizing and implementing the quality powerhouse strategy, being responsible for industrial product quality and safety, food safety, and special equipment safety supervision, and uniformly managing measurement standards, inspection and testing, and certification and accreditation work.

The National Medical Products Administration (国家药品监督管理局) will be formed under the administration of the State Administration for Market Regulation. Major duties will include being responsible for the registration of drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices and the implementation of supervision and management.

The entry and exit inspection and quarantine management duties and teams of General Administration for Quality, Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine will be assigned to the General Administration of Customs.

The State Council Commission on Food Safety and the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council will be retained, and their work shall be undertaken by the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The duties of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the PRC (国家认证认可监督管理委员会) and the Standardization Administration of China will fall under the State Administration for Market Regulation, but their names will be retained for external purposes.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration for Quality, Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine, and the China Food and Drug Administration will no longer be retained.

(35) The National Radio and Television Administration (国家广播电视总局) will be formed. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized and unified leadership over news and public opinion work, strengthen the management of important propaganda fronts, firmly grasp the leadership of ideological work, and give full play to the role of radio and television media as the mouthpiece of the Party, based on the radio and television management duties of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, the National Radio and Television Administration will be formed to act as an agency directly under the State Council.

Major duties will include implementing the Party’s propaganda guidelines and policies, formulating policies and measures for radio and television management and supervising their implementation, overall planning and guidance for coordinating the development of the radio and television business and industry, promoting the reform of systems and mechanisms in the field of radio and television, supervising, managing, and reviewing the content and quality of radio, television, and online audiovisual programs, being responsible for the import, collection, and management of radio and television programs, and coordinating and promoting the work of “going global” in the field of radio and television.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television will no longer be retained.

(36) China Media Group (中央广播电视总局) will be formed. Upholding the proper guidance of public opinion, attaching great importance to the establishment and innovation of communication methods, and improving the powers of communication, guidance, and influence and the credibility of press and public opinion are important starting points for firmly grasping the leadership of ideological work. In order to strengthen the Party’s centralized establishment and management of major public opinion fronts, enhance the overall strength and competitiveness of radio and television media, promote the integrated development of radio and television media and emerging media, and accelerate capacity building for international communications, China Central Television (China Global Television Network), China National Radio, and China Radio International will be integrated to form China Media Group, which will act as a public institution directly under the State Council, under the leadership of the Central Propaganda Department.

Major duties will include spreading the Party’s theories, line, principles, and policies, coordinating and organizing major propaganda reports, organizing radio and television creation and production, producing and broadcasting radio and television specials, channeling trending social topics, strengthening and improving public opinion supervision, promoting the development of multimedia integration, strengthening capacity building for international communications, and properly telling the story of China.

China Central Television (China Global Television Network), China National Radio, and China Radio International will be disbanded. Original call signs will be retained domestically, and the uniform call sign of “Voice of China” will be used externally.

(37) The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (中国银行保险监督管理委员会) will be formed. Finance is the core of the modern economy, and great importance must be attached to preventing and controlling financial risks and ensuring national financial security. In order to deepen the reform of the financial regulatory system, address the problems of unclear supervisory duties, overlapping supervision, and supervisory gaps in the current system, strengthen comprehensive supervision, optimize the allocation of supervisory resources, better coordinate the supervision of systemically important financial institutions, gradually establish a powerful and effective modern financial regulatory framework that meets the characteristics of modern finance, arrange and coordinate supervision, and maintain a bottom line of zero systemic financial risks, the duties of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and China Insurance Regulatory Commission will be integrated to form the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, which will act as a public institution directly under the State Council.

Major duties will include uniformly supervising and managing the banking and insurance industries in accordance with laws and regulations, protecting the legal rights and interests of financial consumers, maintaining the legal and sound operation of the banking and insurance industries, preventing and dissolving financial risks, and maintaining financial stability.

The duties of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and China Insurance Regulatory Commission for drafting important laws and regulations of the banking and insurance industries and the basic systems of prudential supervision will be incorporated into the People’s Bank of China.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission will no longer be retained.

(38) The China International Development Cooperation Agency (国家国际发展合作署) will be formed. In order to give full play to the role of foreign aid as an important means of major country diplomacy, strengthen strategic planning and arranging and coordinating of foreign aid, promote the unified management of foreign aid work, reform and optimize foreign aid methods, and better serve the overall layout of national diplomacy and the joint construction of the “Belt and Road,” the duties of the Ministry of Commerce associated with the work of foreign aid and duties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs such as the coordination of foreign aid will be integrated to form the China International Development Cooperation Agency, which will act as an agency directly under the State Council.

Major duties will include formulating strategic guidelines, plans, and policies for foreign aid, arranging and coordinating major foreign aid issues and offering associated recommendations, advancing foreign aid reforms, preparing foreign aid programs and plans, determining foreign aid projects, and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of foreign aid. The specific work of implementation will still be undertaken by the relevant ministries according to the division of labor.

(39) The National Healthcare Security Administration (国家医疗保障局) will be formed. The health insurance system plays an important role in ensuring the people’s medical needs, reducing the burden of medical expenses, and improving health. In order to improve the unified basic health insurance system and critical illness insurance system for urban and rural residents, continuously improve the level of medical assurance, ensure the reasonable use, safety, and control of health insurance funds, promote the reform of the medical insurance system, the health system, and the pharmaceutical distribution system (“三医联动”), and better guarantee medical treatment, the basic health insurance and maternity insurance responsibilities for urban employees and urban residents of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the new rural cooperative medical services duties of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the drug and medical service price management duties of the National Development and Reform Commission, and the medical assistance duties of the Ministry of Civil Affairs will be integrated to form the National Healthcare Security Administration, which will act as an agency directly under the State Council.

Major duties will include formulating policies, plans, and standards and organizing the implementation of health insurance, maternity insurance, medical assistance, and other medical security systems, supervising and managing relevant medical security funds, improving the national remote medical treatment management and expense settlement platform, organizing the formulation and adjustment of prices and charging standards for medicines and medical services, formulating and supervising the implementation of bidding and procurement policies for medicines and medical consumables, and supervising and managing medical service behaviors and medical expenses that are included in the scope of health insurance expenditures.

(40) The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (国家粮食和物资储备局) will be formed. In order to strengthen the overall planning of national reserves, build a unified national material reserve system, strengthen the supervision and management of the central reserves of grain and cotton, and improve the ability of national reserves to respond to emergencies, the duties of the State Administration of Grain, the duties of the National Development and Reform Commission to organize the implementation of national strategic material procurement, storage, rotation, and management and the management of the national grain, cotton, and sugar reserves, as well as the duties of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, National Energy Administration, and other ministries to organize the implementation of purchasing, storage, rotation, and daily management of national strategic and emergency reserve materials will be integrated to form the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration under the management of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Major duties will include, according to the overall development plan of the national reserve and the catalog of varieties, organizing the implementation of the national strategy and the purchase, storage, rotation, and management of emergency reserve materials, being responsible for the construction and management of reserves infrastructure, supervising and inspecting the management of government reserves, corporate reserves, and the implementation of reserve policies, and being responsible for the management of the grain circulation industry and the administrative management of the central reserves of grain and cotton.

The State Administration of Grain will no longer be retained.

(41) The National Immigration Administration (国家移民管理局) will be formed. With the further improvement of China’s comprehensive national strength, the number of foreigners who come to work and live in China continues to increase, and new requirements have been put forward for good immigration management services. In order to strengthen the arranging and coordinating of immigration and entry and exit management and to better form a joint force for immigration management, the duties of the Ministry of Public Security to perform entry and exit management and border inspections will be integrated to establish a sound visa management coordination mechanism and will form the National Immigration Administration, using the additional name of Entry and Exit Administration of the People’s Republic of China, to be managed by the Ministry of Public Security.

Major duties will include coordinating the formulation of immigration policies and organizing their implementation, being responsible for entry and exit management, port document inspection, and the management of border residents, being responsible for foreigners’ residence and permanent residence management, refugee management, and nationality management, taking the lead in coordinating illegal entry, illegal residence, illegal employment alien management, and illegal immigration repatriation, being responsible for the service management of Chinese citizens entering and leaving the country (borders) for private purposes, and undertaking international cooperation in the field of immigration.

(42) The State Forestry and Grassland Administration (国家林业和草原局) will be formed. In order to increase the protection of the ecosystem, coordinate the supervision and management of forests, grasslands, and wetlands, accelerate the establishment of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body, and ensure national ecological security, the duties of the State Forestry Administration, the duties of the Ministry of Agriculture to supervise and manage grasslands, and the duties of the Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, State Oceanic Administration, and other ministries to manage nature reserves, scenic spots, natural heritage, and geoparks will be integrated to form the State Forestry and Grassland Administration to be managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The name National Park Service will be added to the State Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Major duties will include supervising and managing the development, utilization, and protection of forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and terrestrial wild animal and plant resources, organizing ecological protection and restoration, carrying out afforestation and greening work, and managing various nature reserves such as national parks.

The State Forestry Administration will no longer be retained.

(43) The China National Intellectual Property Administration will be reformed. Enhancing the creation, protection, and application of intellectual property rights is an important measure to accelerate the construction of an innovation-oriented country. In order to address the problem of separate management of trademarks and patents and duplicate enforcement, and improve the intellectual property management system, the duties of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the trademark management duties of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the management duties for geographical indications of origin of the General Administration for Quality, Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine will be integrated to reform the China National Intellectual Property Administration to be managed by the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Major duties will include being responsible for the protection of intellectual property rights, promoting the construction of an intellectual property protection system, being responsible for the registration and administrative adjudication of trademarks, patents, and geographical indications of origin, and guiding the enforcement of trademarks and patents. Trademark and patent enforcement duties will be borne by the Market Supervision Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team.

(44) The State Council Three Gorges Project Construction Committee and its office and the State Council South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Committee and its office will be incorporated into the Ministry of Water Resources. At present, the main construction tasks of the Three Gorges Project have been completed, and the east and middle routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project have been completed. In order to strengthen unified management for the construction and operation of major water conservancy projects and straighten out associated duties, the State Council Three Gorges Project Construction Committee and its office and the State Council South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Committee and its office will be incorporated into the Ministry of Water Resources. The Ministry of Water Resources will be responsible for the operation and management of the Three Gorges Project and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project as well as duties such as follow-up project construction management and post-relocation support management.

The State Council Three Gorges Project Construction Committee and its office and the State Council South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Committee and its office will no longer be retained.

(45) The affiliation of the National Council for Social Security Fund (全国社会保障基金理事会) will be adjusted. In order to strengthen the management and supervision of the social security fund, straighten out the relationship of duties, ensure the safety of the fund, and achieve the goal of maintaining and increasing value, the National Council for Social Security Fund will be moved from the State Council to the Ministry of Finance which will assume primary responsibility for fund security and value preservation and appreciation. It will act as a fund investment and operation institution, the administrative level of which is no longer explicit (不再明确行政级别).

(46) The system of national taxation and local tax collection and management will be reformed. In order to reduce the cost of collection, duties and responsibilities must be straightened out, the efficiency of collection and management must be improved, taxpayers must be provided with more high-quality, efficient, and convenient services, provincial and sub-provincial national taxation and local taxation authorities must be combined, and responsibility for the collection and management of various taxes and non-tax revenues within respective jurisdictions must be specified. In order to improve the efficiency of collection and management of social insurance funds, basic pension insurance premiums, basic health insurance premiums, unemployment insurance premiums, and other social insurance premiums will be collectively collected by taxation authorities. After the merger of the national taxation and local taxation authorities, a dual leadership management system will be implemented based on the State Administration of Taxation and provincial (autonomous region, province-level municipality) governments. The State Administration of Taxation will work with provincial Party committees and governments to strengthen Party leadership within the taxation system to excel in Party building, ideological and political building, and cadre team building. This will optimize the tax organization system and collection duties at all levels and improve the structural layout and allocation of powers according to the principle of combining “slimming” and “fitness” to build an optimized, efficient, and unified tax collection and management system.

4. Deepening the Reform of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Institutions

People’s political consultative conferences are institutional arrangements with Chinese characteristics and are important channels and specialized consultation institutions for socialist deliberative democracy. The democratic supervision of the CPPCC must be strengthened, the representativeness of the CPPCC must be increased, the establishment of committee members must be strengthened, and the establishment of special committees of the CPPCC must be optimized.

(47) The Committee for Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee will be formed. Duties of the Committee for Economic Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee, such as contacting the agricultural community and researching the “three rural” issues, will be adjusted to the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee.

Major duties will include organizing committee members to study and propagate the policies, laws, and regulations of the Party and the state in agriculture and rural areas, conducting investigations and studies on the “three rural” issues, putting forward opinions, recommendations, and proposals, uniting and contacting agricultural and rural committee members to reflect social conditions and public opinions.

(48) The Committee of Literary History and Study of the CPPCC National Committee will be renamed the Committee of Culture, History, and Study of the CPPCC National Committee. The Committee of Education, Science, Art, Health, and Sports of the CPPCC National Committee will be adjusted to the Committee of Culture, History, and Study of the CPPCC National Committee.

Major duties will include organizing committee members to study and propagate the policies, laws, and regulations of the Party and the country’s culture, art, and history, carrying out investigations and studies on cultural, artistic, and historical issues, making comments, suggestions, and proposals, and uniting and contacting the members of cultural, art, cultural and historical circles to reflect social conditions and public opinion.

(49) The Committee of Education, Science, Art, Health, and Sports of the CPPCC National Committee will be renamed the Committee of Education, Science, Health, and Sports of the CPPCC National Committee. Major duties will include organizing committee members to study and propagate the policies and laws and regulations of the Party and the state in education, S&T, health, and sports, carrying out investigations and studies on education, S&T, health, and sports issues, making comments, suggestions, and proposals, and gathering and connecting with members of the education, S&T, health, and sports sectors to reflect upon social conditions and public opinion.

5. Deepening the Structural Reform of Administrative Law Enforcement

Deepening the structural reform of administrative law enforcement, coordinating the allocation of administrative punishment functions and law enforcement resources, and centralizing the relative power of administrative punishment are important tasks for deepening institutional reform. According to the powers and functions of the different levels of government, in accordance with the principles of reducing layers, integrating teams, and improving efficiency, the types of law enforcement teams must be greatly reduced, and law enforcement forces must be rationally allocated. If there are multiple law enforcement teams in a single ministry, they should be integrated into one team in principle. The integration of law enforcement teams in the same field or similar fields must be promoted to implement a comprehensive setup. Law enforcement procedures must be improved, and law enforcement responsibilities must be strictly enforced to achieve strict, standardized, fair, and civilized law enforcement.

(50) The Market Supervision Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team will be formed through integration. The duties and teams covering industry and commerce, quality inspection, food, drugs, prices, trademarks, and patents will be integrated to form the Market Supervision Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team under the guidance of the State Administration for Market Regulation. To encourage local governments to direct other law enforcement teams to the market and enterprises and to face the grassroots and the common people, such as for business law enforcement or salt industry law enforcement, these teams will be integrated and incorporated into the Market Supervision Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team. Enforcement of actions such as drug sales and marketing will be undertaken by the Market Supervision Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team at the city and county levels.

(51) The Ecology and Environmental Protection Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team will be formed through integration. The duties and teams covering environmental protection, land, agriculture, water conservancy, marine and other relevant pollution prevention and ecological protection law enforcement will be integrated for the uniform implementation of ecology and environmental protection law enforcement under the guidance of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

(52) The Culture Market Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team will be formed through integration. The duties and teams of tourism market law enforcement will be integrated and incorporated into the Culture Market Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team to uniformly exercise administrative law enforcement duties for the culture, cultural relics, publishing, radio and television, movies, and tourism markets under the guidance of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

(53) The Transportation Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team will be formed through integration. The duties and teams of law enforcement involving traffic and transportation, such as road administration and transportation administration in the transportation system, will be integrated to implement unified law enforcement under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport.

(54) The Agriculture Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team will be formed through integration. The law enforcement teams concerned with veterinary drugs, pig slaughtering, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery, and agricultural product quality in the agricultural system will be integrated to implement unified law enforcement.

The implementation of cross-domain and cross-department comprehensive law enforcement must continue to be explored. The coordination and cooperation between comprehensive law enforcement authorities, relevant industry management departments, comprehensive law enforcement teams, information sharing mechanisms, and cross-departmental and cross-regional law enforcement collaboration linkage mechanisms must be established and improved. Relevant laws and regulations must be reviewed and revised in a timely manner.

6. Deepening Cross-Service and Cross-Regional Reform

With a focus on fully implementing the Party’s absolute leadership over the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and other armed forces and implementing the Party Central Committee’s decision on adjusting the leadership and command system of the Armed Police Force, in accordance with the principle that the military is the military, the police are the police, and the people are the people, all armed police forces and active forces under the leadership of the ministries of the State Council will withdraw from the armed police, the Maritime Corps under the leadership of the State Oceanic Administration will be transferred to the Armed Police Force, the Gold Corps, Forestry Corps, and Hydropower Corps of the Armed Police Force that are responsible for civil tasks will be transferred to relevant state functional departments and reorganized into a non-active specialist corps. Meanwhile, the Armed Police Force will be withdrawn from customs duty, and the relationship between the leadership, management, command, and use of the Armed Police Force will be thoroughly straightened out.

(55) Public security frontier defense forces will be restructured. The public security frontier defense forces will no longer be listed in the ranks of the Armed Police Force, and all will be retired from active service.

After the public security frontier forces are transferred to local governments, the organizational system will be transferred to the public security organs and appropriate adjustments and integrations will be carried out in conjunction with the newly formed National Immigration Administration. All active-duty establishments will be transferred to the people’s police establishments.

(56) The Public Security Fire Corps will be restructured. The Public Security Fire Corps will no longer be listed in the ranks of the Armed Police Force, and all will be retired from active service.

After the Public Security Fire Corps are transferred to local governments, all active establishments will be transferred to administrative establishments, and the organizational system will be placed under the Ministry of Emergency Management to be responsible for firefighting and other emergency rescue work and to give full play to the role of the main emergency rescue force and the national team.

(57) The Public Security Guards Corps will be restructured. The Public Security Guards Corps will no longer be listed in the ranks of the Armed Police Force, and all will be retired from active service. The public security fire forces will no longer be listed as armed police forces, and all will be retired from active service.

After the Public Security Guards Corps is transferred to local governments, the security bureaus (divisions) managed by the public security organs at the same levels will not change; they will assume the required guard tasks, and all active-duty establishments will be transferred to the people’s police establishments.

(58) The Maritime Corps will be transferred to the Armed Police Force. According to the method of handover followed by reorganization, the Maritime Corps and its related functions under the leadership of the State Oceanic Administration (China Coast Guard) will be assigned in full to the Armed Police Force.

(59) The Armed Police Force will no longer command the Gold Corps, Forestry Corps, and Hydropower Corps of the Armed Police. According to the method of handover followed by reorganization, the Gold Corps, Forestry Corps, and Hydropower Corps of the Armed Police Force will be transferred in full to the relevant functional departments of the state, and the officers and soldiers will be collectively converted into a non-active specialist corps.

After the Gold Corps of the Armed Police Force is converted into a non-active specialists corps, it will be merged into the Ministry of Natural Resources to undertake national basic public welfare geological tasks and polymetallic mineral resource exploration tasks. Active-duty establishments will be converted into government fiscal subsidy undertakings. Some of the original enterprise functions will be transferred to the China National Gold Corporation.

After the Forestry Corps of the Armed Police Force is converted to a non-active specialist corps, active-duty establishments will be converted to administrative establishments and incorporated into the Ministry of Emergency Management to undertake emergency rescue tasks such as forest fire fighting and to give play to the role of the national emergency rescue specialist corps.

After the Hydropower Corps of the Armed Police Force is converted into a non-active specialist corps, to make full use of the corps’ original specialist technology and to undertake the construction tasks of water conservancy and hydropower projects, it will become an SOE. It will continue to use the name China Anneng Construction Corporation (中国安能建设总公司) and will be under the management of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council.

(60) The Armed Police Force will no longer assume responsibility for customs duties. Units participating in customs duties will be withdrawn as a whole at once and returned to the Armed Police Force.

In order to supplement the gap in the front-line customs supervision force after the withdrawal of the Armed Police Forces, the customs system must integrate with the inspection and quarantine system to increase internal potential. Meanwhile, some demobilized officers and soldiers will be accepted through the approved military transfer organization, and matters will be resolved through the implementation of purchasing services, hiring security personnel, and other methods.

7. Deepening the Reform of Mass Organizations

Mass organization reform must earnestly implement the Party Central Committee’s decisions on group (群团) reform, improve the Party committee unified leadership system for group work, closely focus on maintaining and enhancing the main thread of political nature, advanced nature (先进性), and mass nature, strengthen the awareness of problems, promote reform with greater intensity and more practical measures, strive to address the problems of “institutionalization,” “bureaucratization,” “elitism,” and “entertainmentization” (“娱乐化”) to build more energetic and stronger mass organizations.

The proper direction of reform must be firmly grasped. The Party’s leadership over mass organizations must always be insisted upon, and the Party’s will and propositions must be resolutely implemented, with conscious obedience and service to the overall situation of the Party and the state. The proper integration points and focus points must be discovered to implement people-centered work and to enhance the influence of mass organizations. To focus on salient issues, the layout of institutions must be reformed, management models must be optimized, and new operating mechanisms must be created. We must keep our noses down with a focus on the grassroots. Efforts and service resources must be shifted to the grassroots level to better meet the needs of the grassroots and the masses. The organic connection between Party and government agencies and the functions of mass organizations must be promoted. Mass organizations must be supported and encouraged to undertake public service functions suitable for mass organizations, and the functions of mass organizations must be enhanced to unify education, safeguard rights, and serve the masses. Full play must be given to the role of the Party and government as a bridge linking the people. Organizational leadership, arrangements and coordination, categorized guidance (分类指导), and inspector accountability must all be strengthened and experiences must be carefully drawn upon to effectively implement the Party Central Committee’s requirements for group work and group reform.

8. Deepening the Reform of Local Institutions

The reform of local institutions must fully implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee on deepening the reform of Party and state institutions. Reform must strengthen the overall leadership of the Party and adhere to the overall planning of provinces, cities, and counties and the overall planning of the Party, government, and the masses. In accordance with the main responsibilities of party committees and governments at all levels, institutions must be adjusted and established with reason. Power and responsibility dynamics must be rectified, and reform plans must be organized and implemented following submission for approval in accordance with relevant procedures.

To deepen the reform of local institutions, we must focus on improving the systems and mechanisms for maintaining the authority of the Party Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership. There must be fundamental correspondence between the functions of the provincial, city, and county levels involving the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and the national legal system, government decrees, and the market. More autonomy must be given to institutions at and below the provincial level to highlight the characteristics of different levels of responsibility and to allow localities to establish institutions and allocate functions in accordance with local conditions within the prescribed limits and in accordance with the actual economic and social development of the given region. The establishment of Party, government, and mass organizations must be coordinated, with Party and government institutions with similar functions exploring mergers or joint offices at the provincial, municipal, and county levels. Cities and counties must increase their efforts to merge the establishment of Party and government agencies or to have them collaborate. The experiences of the reform of the administrative management system of economically developed towns must be learned from and adapted to the characteristics of the work of neighborhoods and towns and the need for convenient services in order to build a simple and efficient grassroots management system.

The management of quotas for Party and government institutions at all levels must be strengthened, and the quotas for local party committees at all levels and government institutions at the same levels must be calculated uniformly. Institutions undertaking administrative functions must be unified into the quota management of local Party and government institutions. The number of Party and government institutions at the provincial level must be approved and managed by the Party Central Committee. The number of Party and government institutions at the city and county levels must be under the strict management of the provincial party committees.

The rigid constraints of organizational management must be strengthened with adherence to overall volume controls, prohibiting the introduction of too many people, the establishment of too many institutions, or the employment of too many leading cadres. Together with the comprehensive deepening of Party and state institution reform, compilation work must be integrated and standardized, and the coordination and deployment of staffing between ministries and regions must be intensified. Within the scope of provinces (autonomous regions, province-level municipalities), the model of district ownership, departmental ownership, and unit (单位) ownership must be broken down following establishment and distribution, and establishments must be adjusted according to any changes in function.

The rapid and steady pace of reform must continue. The reform of central and state organs and agencies must conclude by the end of 2018. Reform plans for provincial Party and government institutions must be submitted to the Party Central Committee for approval by the end of September 2018. Institutional adjustments must be basically complete before the end of 2018. A report on the reform of sub-provincial Party and government institutions under the unified leadership of the provincial party committees must be submitted to the Party Central Committee for the record before the end of 2018. All local institution reform tasks must be basically complete by the end of March 2019.

Deepening the reform of Party and state agencies is a profound reform to promote the modernization of the national governance system and capacity and is a major political task linked to the overall situation of the Party and the state. All regions, ministries, and units must resolutely safeguard the authority and the centralized unified leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, adhere to the proper direction of reform, and unify thoughts and actions around the Party Central Committee’s major decision-making deployments on deepening the reform of Party and state agencies, implementing the Party Central Committee’s decisions and deployments without compromise. There must be a focus on unifying ideological understanding and on ideological and political work throughout the entire reform process, and cadres at all levels must be guided to strengthen their political consciousness, consciousness of the big picture, consciousness of the core leadership, and consciousness of falling in line with Party directives. Leading cadres must take the initiative to speak politics (讲政治), take the broader picture into account, observe discipline, promote reform, and resolutely safeguard the authority of the Party and the gravity of the Party Central Committee’s reform decision-making. To strengthen organization and leadership, Party committees and governments at all levels must take the implementation of reform measures as a political responsibility. The main leaders of Party committees (Party groups) must take chief responsibility, and the explicit reform tasks of the Party Central Committee must be resolutely implemented, which involve institutional changes. Ministries that adjust duties must adhere to the bigger picture and ensure that organizations, duties, and teams are adjusted properly and in time as required with no modifications or delays in reform. The supervision and inspection of the implementation of reforms in various regions and ministries must be strengthened. Regions and ministries must report to the Party Central Committee on the progress of institutional reforms and major problems encountered by these regions and ministries in a timely manner to receive instructions.