The current structural reform is focused on State Council departments.
Except for the General Office of the State Council, the number of
existing ministries and commissions of the State Council is reduced from
40 to 29. Reform plan follows:
Macro-Control Departments

Departments Changed:

State Planning Commission is renamed State Development Planning Commission

State Commission for Economic Restructuring is changed into the
High-Level Business Discussion Organ under the State Council

Departments Retained:

State Economic and Trade Commission

The Ministry of Finance

People's Bank of China

Specialized Economic Management Departments

Departments Changed:

The Ministries of Posts and Telecommunications, and Electronics Industry
are re-established into the Ministry of Information Industry

A new State Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National
Defense is reorganized

The Ministry of Coal Industry is reorganized into the State
Administration of Coal Industry

The Ministry of Machine-Building Industry is reorganized into the State
Administration of Machine-Building Industry

The Ministry of Metallurgy Industry is reorganized into the State
Administration of Metallurgy Industry

The Ministry of Internal Trade is reorganized into the State
Administration of Internal Trade

The China National Council of Light Industry is reorganized into the
State Administration of Light Industry

The China National Council of Textile Industry is reorganized into the
State Administration of Textile Industry

The Ministry of Chemical Industry, the China National Oil/Gas Corp. and
the China National Petrochemical Corp. are reorganized into the State
Administration of Petrochemical Industry

(These state administrations are included into the State Economic and
Trade Commission)

The Ministry of Forestry is reorganized into the State Bureau of Forestry
(listed as a department directly under the State Council)

The Ministry of Power Industry has already been reorganized into the
State Power Industry Corp. (the government administration function of
power industry is included into the State Economic and Trade Commission)

Departments Retained:

The Ministries of Railways, Communications, Construction, Agriculture,
Water Resources and Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation

Education, Science, Technology, Culture, Social Security and Resources
Management Departments
Departments Changed:

State Science and Technology Commission is renamed the Ministry of
Science and Technology

State Education Commission is renamed the Ministry of Education

Part of the Ministries of Labor, Personnel and Civil Affairs is
reorganized into the Ministry of Labor and Social Security

The Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources, the State Bureau of Land
Resources, the National Bureau of Oceanography, and State Bureau of
Surveying and Mapping are jointly reorganized into the Ministry of Land
and Resources

The State Physical Culture and Sports Commission is not retained, its
function is entrusted to the All-China Sports Federation

The Ministry of Radio, Film and Television is reorganized into the State
Bureau of Radio, Film and Television (listed as a department directly
under the State Council)

Departments Retained

The Ministry of Personnel (its function readjusted)

The State Administrative Departments
Departments Retained:

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Culture, Health; the
State Family Planning Commission, The State Ethnic Affairs Commission,
the Ministries of justice, Public Security, State Security, Civil Affairs
and Supervision; and National Audit Office

(I)Macro-Control Departments

The main responsibilities of macro-control departments are to maintain
and economic aggregate balance, curb inflation, optimize the economic
structure, bring about a sustained, rapid and sound economic development,
strengthen the macro-control system, perfect economic and legal means and
improve macro-control mechanisms.

There are four macro-control departments after reformed: State
Development Planning Commission, State Economic and Trade Commission, the
Ministry of finance and the People's Bank of China.

(II)Specialized economic management departments

The main responsibilities of specialized economic management departments
are to formulate plans and policies for trades, exercise trade
management; guide readjustment to the product mix of related trades; and
maintain an equal competition order for related trades.

Specialized economic management departments do not directly manage
enterprises. The relationship between the government and state-owned
enterprises follows: the government enjoys the right and interests of the
owner in accordance with the capital it puts in the enterprise; sends
special inspectors to the enterprise, supervises assets operation and
profits and losses of the enterprise; takes responsibility for
assessment, appointment and removal of main enterprise leading cadres.
The enterprise engages in independent management according to law,
assumes sole responsibility for profits and losses, pays taxes according
to regulation; takes responsibility for the value preservation and
increment of state capital, refrains from harming the rights and
interests of the owner.

The principal responsibilities of the Ministry of Information Industry
established on the basis of the Ministries of Posts and
Telecommunications and Electronics Industry are to develop the electronic
information products manufacturing industry, telecommunications and
software industry, promote information related national economic and
social services; formulates plans, polices, rules and regulations for
related trades; makes overall plans for the main state telecommunications
network, radio and television network, special-purpose communication
networks for war industrial and other departments and exercises
management over related trades; makes rational allocation of resources to
avoid redundant project construction and guarantees information security. The government functions of the original Ministry of Radio, Film and
Television, the China National Astronautics Industry Corp. And the China
National Aeronautics Industry Corp. in information and networking
management are include into the Ministry of Information Industry.

Establishing a new State Commission for Science, Technology and Industry
for National Defense. The functions of the original State Commission for
Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, of the National
Defense Departments of the State Planning Commission and the government
functions undertaken by various war industry corporations are all placed
under the management of the new State Commission for Science, Technology
and Industry for National Defense.

The original Ministries of Coal, Machine-Building, Metallurgy Industry,
and Internal Trade, the China National Council of Light Industry and the
China National Council of Textile Industry are reorganized into
Industrial Bureaus and are placed under the management of the State
Economic and Trade Commission.

There are eight specialized economic management departments after
reformed: the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Communications, the
Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of
Water Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation,
the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Commission for
Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

(III) Education, science, technology, culture, social security and
resources management departments:

The Ministry of Labor and Social security is established on the basis of
the original Ministry of Labor for a unified social security
administrative organization. The urban worker social insurance now under
the management of the Ministry of Labor, the social insurance of
government institutions under the management of the Ministry of
personnel, the rural social insurance under the management of the
Ministry of Civil Affairs, the social insurance undertaken by various
trade and profession departments, as well as the medical insurance under
the management of health departments are all place under the management
of the new ministry.

The principal responsibilities of the Ministry of Land and Resources,
jointly established by the original Ministry of Geology and Mineral
Resources, the State Bureau of Land Administration, the National Bureau
of Oceanography and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, are
planning, managing, protecting and rationally using land, mineral, marine
and other natural resources.

There are five education, science, technology, culture, social security
and resources management departments after reformed: The Ministry of
Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor
and Social Security, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Land
and Resources.

(IV) The state administrative departments:

The following 12 departments are retained: the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs, National Defense, Culture and Health; the State Family Planning
Commission; the State Ethnic Affairs Commission; the Ministries of
Justice, Public Security, State Security, Civil Affairs and Supervision;
and the National Audit Office.

LEADERSHIP reorganization of the State Council's subsidiary departments
and institutions, a key component of the restructuring initiative, is
complete.

The process involved 515 officials within 82 departments and institutions
under the State Council, note sources with the Organization Department of
the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Among the officials, 36.1 per cent remained in their positions, 48.2 per
cent moved to new posts and 15.7 per cent either retired or accepted jobs
outside the State Council.

The restructuring was completed based on officials' competence and not
seniority, sources indicated. Some officials were demoted based on the
State Council's practical needs.

Meanwhile, there has been an extensive flow of officials among different
departments and localities.

Statistics indicate the ages of new officials have declined. The average
age of 29 minister-level officials is 57.45 years. The youngest minister
is 48.

The newly appointed officials brought a fresh outlook to their positions,
and the restructuring is proceeding well, the sources said.

THE State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) published the list of
117 key State construction projects for 1998 yesterday in Beijing.

Ten of the projects involve water conservancy, including the key
Xiaolangdi and Wanjiazhai water control projects, and the Taihu Lake
harnessing scheme.

Two agricultural projects are included -- a 5-billion-kilogram marketable
grain project and the Songyuan corn-processing project in Jilin Province.

There are 20 transportation projects in the list including the
Sichuan-Tibet Highway, the Fuzhou-Quanzhou Highway in Fujian Province,
Tianjin Port, and the second Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing.

Three civil aviation schemes are listed -- the terminal project at
Beijing's Capital Airport, Shanghai Pudong Airport, and Haikou Meilan
Airport in Hainan Province.

The only telecommunications project is the State fibre trunk line
project, which has four sections: Lanzhou-Xining-Lhasa, Hohhot-Beihai,
Xi'an-Hefei, and Nanning-Guiyang-Kunming.

The list also covers 12 coal projects, six oil schemes, 14 railway
projects and 28 electrical power plans.

Other construction schemes involve forestry, iron and steel, chemistry,
petrochemicals, the building industry, medicine, non-ferrous industry,
machinery, textiles, and urban construction.

"All relevant departments and local authorities should ensure that
construction funds are put into key projects on time," said a statement
released by the SDPC.

The commission did not reveal details of the investment required for each
project.

The SDPC urged local authorities to adjust their investment structure
and give investment priority to these key State projects.

All government departments are urged to co-ordinate their work to solve
construction-related problems.

Key construction projects may enjoy priority in such sectors as land use,
building materials, transportation, water supply and power supply.

Strict management should be initiated for these projects to reduce
construction costs and improve investment efficiency.

Unauthorized pooling of funds, compulsory donations and random levies on
enterprises are prohibited, said the commission.

Investment, finance and price administration departments at all levels
should strengthen supervision, it said.

Auditing departments will be responsible for preventing illegal acts such
as misappropriation of construction funds.

MANAGERS of enterprises in China can now look forward to obtaining
additional information on technology transfer -- without stepping out
of their offices.

A national network for technology transfer has now been opened to the
public.

The network establishes links between enterprises and institutions of
higher learning. It is loaded with information on "what-we-have"
technological research findings from universities to meet "what-we-need"
requests by enterprises.

The network will provide technology transfer services to enterprises and
institutions across the country, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of
Education at a press conference yesterday in Beijing.

The network has been approved by the Ministry of Education and initiated
by seven universities -- Qinghua, Beida, Fudan, Nanjing, Zhejiang,
Shanghai Jiaoda and Xi'an Jiaoda.

So far, 30 of China's 1,020 colleges and universities have joined the
network. And more are expected soon, said the spokesperson.

A senior official of the Ministry of Education called on colleges and
universities nationwide to focus more on technological innovation to meet
enterprises' requirements.

According to the Science and Technology Department Centre of the Ministry
of Education, institutions of higher learning undertake an average of
10,000 technological research programmes and obtain thousands of research
results in various fields each year.

Some of these findings have led to huge commercial profits.

At yesterday's press conference, Zhang Zhigang, vice-minister of the
State Economic and Trade Commission, said enterprises and institutions
of higher learning should co-operate more. Enterprises are badly in need
of technological innovation and educational institutions have become a
keystone of the country's economic and scientific development.