Chongqing - Explaining the 2023 Two Sessions Buzzword, reading public opinions and expectations, and understanding the demands of the new era, you are watching Buzzword: 2023 Two Sessions. This is Bridget from Bridging News.

The buzzword of the day is “the Reform of State Council Institutions.”

On March 7 afternoon, China’s State Council submitted a plan for the reform of the State Council institutions to the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress for deliberation.

China plans to restructure its Ministry of Science and Technology to better allocate resources to overcome challenges in key and core technologies and move faster toward greater self-reliance in science and technology.

China will set up a national financial regulatory administration. Directly under the State Council, the proposed administration will be in charge of regulating the financial industry except for the securities sector. China will deepen the reform of its local financial regulatory mechanism. China will develop a local financial regulatory mechanism with agencies dispatched by central financial regulators as the mainstay; these dispatched agencies' institutional structure and resources will be optimized in a coordinated manner. 

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will become a government agency rather than a public institution directly under the State Council. China will advance the reform of the branches of the People’s Bank of China, the central bank. China will improve the regulatory mechanism for State-owned financial capital. China will unify and standardize the management of the staff of financial regulators.

According to the plan, China will establish a national data bureau administered by the National Development and Reform Commission. It will be responsible for advancing the development of data-related fundamental institutions, coordinating the integration, sharing, development, and application of data resources, and pushing forward the planning and building of a Digital China, a digital economy, and a digital society, among others.

According to the plan, China will improve the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' functions. China will strengthen its elderly-care work mechanism to implement the proactive national strategy in response to population aging and to expand the basic elderly-care services to cover all senior citizens. China will improve the management mechanism for intellectual property rights. The National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration will become an institution directly under the State Council. China’s state institutions at the central level will downsize their staff by 5 percent.

Today, NPC deputies hold group meetings to deliberate the plan for the reform of State Council institutions, which CPPCC National Committee members also have group meetings to discuss.