(Bloomberg) – China’s ruling Communist Party has unveiled its biggest makeover in years, highlighting President Xi Jinping’s quest to increase his influence over the organization that dominates politics in the world’s No. 2 economy.
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According to a restructuring plan reported by the official Xinhua news agency, the country is setting up central committees to strengthen the party’s leadership in finance and technology sectors, as well as bureaus to oversee social work and affairs in Hong Kong and Macau.
The changes underscore Xi’s desire to improve the ruling party’s status during his decade in power and ensure it is represented in all walks of life, from private company boardrooms to university lecture halls. The move to centralize power reverses reforms in the 1980s led by Deng Xiaoping, who wanted a more professional civil service after Mao Zedong’s destructive political moves caused famine and bloodshed.
The most important changes include:
Establishment of a central finance committee to improve the party’s centralized oversight of financial work; new body to host the Financial Stability and Development Committee under the State Council
Revitalized the defunct Central Financial Work Commission to lead party building in the financial sector
Established a Central Technology Commission to improve the Party’s oversight of technological development. The Ministry of Science and Technology will act as the administrative subordinate
Establishment of a central social work center to process petitions
Established a central bureau to oversee Hong Kong and Macau affairs reporting directly to the Communist Party rather than the government
China last overhauled the party in 2018, as the leadership sought to increase the organization’s presence in state institutions. One of the changes at the time was to create the National Oversight Commission from the party’s chief transplant guardian.
The hybrid government-party body has been used to expand Xi’s fight against bribery beyond party officials to include millions of government officials, academics, journalists and state-owned company executives.
In a speech at the conclusion of the recent National People’s Congress – technically the highest power body in China – Xi pledged to ensure the party maintains its central role.
“To build a strong nation, we must adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party and the centralized and unified leadership of the Party’s Central Committee,” he said, referring to the roughly 200-strong body from which key positions in the government are drawn, diplomatic Corps and military are filled.
Xi used the annual NPC meeting to reorganize the bureaucracy to make the economy more self-sufficient and resilient amid US efforts to block Beijing from receiving advanced technology.
This plan strengthened oversight of its $60 trillion financial system, created a new agency to manage data, and restructured the Department of Science and Technology. China also announced that it would cut central-level government jobs by 5% and reallocate them to strategic areas.
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Source : news.yahoo.com