Streamlining Government and Delegating Authority

Streamlining government aims at eliminating overstaffing and consolidating duplicated or overlapping – and often mutually interfering – government functions, so as to better address such problems as the inadequate provision of public goods and services and the poor efficiency of the work of the government. Delegating authority is intended to cut red tape that subjects an unnecessarily extensive array of business activities to a complex and lengthy government approval process. Such a move should free the government from unwarranted reach into areas it would do better to stay away from, thereby leaving it free to focus on what really falls within its purview, especially those duties it is supposed to perform but has not performed adequately. 

The current Chinese administration has made it a top priority to accelerate the process of transforming government functions, streamlining government, and delegating authority. By the end of 2013, a total of 416 items originally requiring State Council review and approval had been reclassified as exempt from such review or sent to lower levels of the government for approval. More than 200 items were addressed in a similar manner in 2014. 

The key to transforming government functions is the right balance between delegation and the exercise of control. To delegate authority is meant to inject more vitality into economic activities, rather than embracing an unqualified laissez-faire approach. To exercise control is to ensure that the market functions appropriately, rather than stifling the economy with regulatory overreach. 

Streamlining government and delegating authority helps rationalize the relationship between the government and the market, giving the market a bigger role to play in allocating resources. This ultimately propels reform, helps restructuring, and improves people's well-being. The shifting of focus from pre-implementation approval to monitoring during and after implementation calls for a more detail-oriented and better targeted supervisory function for the government, rather than reducing its workload. Such a change represents a challenge for government departments. There is now a need for a paradigm shift and enhanced capacity. 

It is vital to develop a forward-looking vision and be proactive in gauging market dynamics with a view to amplifying the positive effect of market drivers and minimizing the negative influence of any market failure in a timely manner. 

簡(jiǎn)政放權(quán)

“簡(jiǎn)政”，即解決機(jī)構(gòu)職能交叉、政出多門、人浮于事、相互掣肘的現(xiàn)象，解決社會(huì)公共產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)提供不足、行政效率低下的問題?！胺艡?quán)”，則是解決對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)審批過多、審批程序復(fù)雜、審批周期長(zhǎng)效率低的問題，解決政府管了一些不該管的事情、一些該管的事情卻沒管好的問題。中國(guó)本屆政府把加快轉(zhuǎn)變職能、簡(jiǎn)政放權(quán)作為開門第一件大事。到2013年底，分批取消和下放了416項(xiàng)行政審批等事項(xiàng)，2014年取消和下放審批事項(xiàng)200項(xiàng)以上。轉(zhuǎn)變政府職能的核心要義，是要切實(shí)做好“放管”結(jié)合。 “‘放’是放活，而不是放任；‘管’要管好，而不是管死?！?/p>

簡(jiǎn)政放權(quán)是為了理順政府與市場(chǎng)的關(guān)系，更好地發(fā)揮市場(chǎng)在資源配置的作用，歸根結(jié)底是促改革調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)惠民生。由事前審批變?yōu)槭轮惺潞蟊O(jiān)管，不是給政府工作“減壓”，而是相關(guān)工作要做得更細(xì)致，監(jiān)管要更到位。這種工作方式的轉(zhuǎn)變，對(duì)政府職能部門提出了更高的要求：不僅觀念要變，更要增長(zhǎng)能力，要主動(dòng)研究市場(chǎng)規(guī)律，具備前瞻眼光，對(duì)市場(chǎng)發(fā)展有利的要積極鼓勵(lì)，對(duì)市場(chǎng)發(fā)展不利的要及時(shí)調(diào)整。