In a plan on institutional restructuring of the State Council released Tuesday, the setup of two new entities has grabbed the spotlight.
The entities are the International Development Cooperation Agency and the State Immigration Administration.
It shows that China, as a major power in the international community, strives to make the impact of its foreign assistance more effective and to attract more foreign talent as its economy grows rapidly.
As part of the biggest institutional revamp in years, setup of the two entities is akin to those in some developed countries. In the US, UK and Australia, organizations have existed to better serve their foreign assistance strategy; in countries like the US, Australia, Japan and Singapore, the goal of attracting foreign talents for business or innovation has also been achieved by setting up such organizations.
Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong delivers an institutional restructuring plan of the State Council at the fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 13, 2018. /Xinhua Photo
To improve foreign aid efficiency
The formation of the International Development Cooperation Agency, directly under the State Council, is to better serve China's overall diplomatic structure and the Belt and Road Initiative, said State Councilor Wang Yong while delivering the reform plan at a plenary meeting of the 13th National People's Congress on Tuesday.
Duties of the new agency include drafting foreign aid strategies, planning and policies; coordinating major issues, making suggestions and facilitating reform on types of foreign aid; designing effective foreign aid programs, supervising their implementation and making assessments.
Execution of the programs will be undertaken by the departments concerned, according to the plan. Responsibilities of foreign aid fall into the hands of Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
August 26, 2017: Experts from the Chinese Red Cross foreign aid medical team carry out screening for children with congenial heart disease (CHD) at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. /Xinhua Photo
The move is to greatly improve China's foreign aid efficiency and to make its impact more effective, Cui Fan told the Economic Observer Online, professor of University of International Business and Economics and director with China Society for World Trade Organization Studies.
The two entities echo each other well, with one "exporting" China's resources abroad and the other "importing" what the country expects from others.
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To attract foreign talent
Changing of the name from the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration to State Immigration Administration implies the changing of functions to attract more foreign talent.
The administration is still under the Ministry of Public Security.
July 17, 2017: Mark Levine, a US citizen, presents his foreigner's permanent residence identity card, a new version of Chinese "green card" in Beijing. /Xinhua Photo
Rapid economic growth is one of the main factors attracting foreign talents, and reform of the administration is just to meet the demand following the phenomenon of an increasing number of foreigners coming into China, said State Councilor Wang Yong.
China's gross domestic product rose by 6.9 percent in 2017, totaling 82.7 trillion yuan (about 13.1 trillion US dollars).
The main functions of the administration is to draft immigration policies and put them into practice, to take responsibilities for border control, to administer foreigners' stay in China, to manage issues related to nationality and refuges, to take the lead in solving problems related to foreigners having illegally entered, stayed or employed and repatriating illegal immigrants.
Statistics released by the United Nations show that the number of foreign residents in China has increased from 370, 000 in 1990 to 970,000 in 2015.
