China 'redoubles efforts' to improve government performance

China's State Council has worked to improve government performance across the board and redoubled efforts to enhance governance, according to a government work report submitted on Tuesday to the national legislature for deliberation.

"We were firm in upholding the authority of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Comrade Xi at its core and its centralized, unified leadership and took solid steps to fully implement the decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee," the report read.

With top priority given to political advancement, the State Council enhanced the government's capacity to perform its duties in all areas, the report added.

The State Council submitted 10 legislative proposals to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation, formulated or revised 25 sets of administrative regulations, and launched a three-year action plan for improving administrative law enforcement, the report noted.

The State Council also accepted oversight in compliance with the law and handled with full attention suggestions and proposals from NPC deputies and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee members, the report said.

Efforts have also been made to prioritize research and studies, improve Party conduct and conduct inspection and rectification in financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, and other institutions.

"We developed new and improved ways of conducting governance in urban and rural communities and took solid steps to handle public complaints. We redoubled efforts to ensure workplace safety and improve emergency management and launched special initiatives to identify and address potential dangers that could cause major accidents," the report added.

Improving law-based government administration

Calling for building a law-based, innovation-driven and service-oriented government that meets the people's expectations and fully performs its duties, the report revealed that one of the government's work priority for this year is to advance law-based government administration.

"We will fully advance law-based government administration and strictly abide by the constitution and laws," the report said. "With a commitment to sound, democratic and law-based decision-making, we will observe objective laws, build broad consensus and ensure a solid legal basis when formulating policies. We will improve the system of government transparency and comprehensively promote strict, procedure-based, impartial and non-abusive law enforcement."

In a recent article, Zhou Youyong, dean of graduate school at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), wrote that in the face of global changes, China has set high requirements for law-based governance, so as to meet people's needs for a better life, modernize the national governance system and boost the governance capacity.

It is necessary to bring all government work in line with the rule of law and enhance administration capacity in accordance with the rule of law, Zhou stressed.

Noting the Chinese government's commitment to the people, the expert also said that law-based governance requires incorporating people's satisfaction index into the assessment and evaluation index system.

Efforts should also be made to improve the strength and effectiveness of law enforcement in key areas directly related to the immediate interests of the people and to enable the people to see a clear and just atmosphere in every act of law enforcement and feel fairness and justice in every law-enforcement decision, thereby enhancing their sense of gain, happiness and security, Zhou added.

(Cover: Citizens handle business at Shanghai's Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang Special Area in east China's Shanghai, May 12, 2023. /Xinhua)