Following one year of preparations, the plan for reform of the Chinese central government agencies under the State Council was reviewed at and passed by the second session of the 17th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee in February. The plan is now submitted for review and approval of the National People's Congress session in March. The principle of the reform is to establish super government agencies with sector-wide authority and responsibilities.
There have been many suggestions on establishing a super-government agency that oversees the entire healthcare sector, and plans previously put forward included "super-sizing" the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the National Development and Reform Commission. Most recently, the proposition of a "super" Ministry of Health gained increasing momentum.
When asked recently by the local press about government reform in healthcare, Health Minister Chen Zhu confirmed on March 5 that restructure of healthcare related government agencies will be included in the latest government reform. Commenting on a speculation regarding the potential merger of the Ministry of Health, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM) and the SFDA, Chen commented that the SATCM has always been a subordinate agency of the MOH, but he did not respond directly to the possibility of a merger between the MOH and the SFDA.
However, SFDA Commissioner Shao Mingli revealed a day later to local reporters that the State Council's government reform plan includes merging the SFDA into the Ministry of Health. Shao said he is in support of this plan and added that more details will be available after the NPC session.
Our source suggested that it is likely the government reform may begin with the "super" Ministry of Health merging three existing government agencies including the MOH, SFDA and SATCM, and the new Ministry of Industry. The "super" Ministry of Culture and the "super" Ministry of Finance previously speculated to be on top of the government reform agenda may not be included in the first phase of reform. The government reform plan is expected to be announced on March 11.
According to earlier local press reports, the reform of the central government agencies will be undertaken in phases. In the first phase, the State Council will seek to reduce the number of ministries and commissions from currently 28 down to 21, and the reform is likely to begin from the energy, transportation, industry and environmental protection sectors.
